The full ingredient line
This is the ingredient line printed on the Lumbre carne seca pouch, in order: beef, iodized salt, maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavors, monosodium glutamate, citric acid, hydrolyzed soy vegetable protein, chili mix, non-hydrogenated RBD soy vegetable oil, FD&C Red #40 aluminum lake, added sugars (sugar), onion, garlic, sodium inosinate and guanylate, calcium silicate, silicon dioxide and FD&C Yellow #5.
Under it the pouch says "Contains Soy", and on the front "Artificially colored". Those two lines answer the questions most people ask before they buy, so they are worth knowing how to read.
Soy and the Contains line
The FDA lists nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. A label has to name them, either in parentheses inside the ingredient list or in a "Contains" statement right next to it.
Our pouch does the second: "Contains Soy". The soy comes from two ingredients, the hydrolyzed soy protein and the soy oil. If you avoid soy, this snack is not for you, even though the powder in our jar is a separate product with its own label.
One detail for careful readers: the FDA page notes that its own allergen labeling rules cover most foods but not most meats, which the USDA labels. The nine allergens are the same list either way, and the Contains line on our pouch reads the same way you would read it on any snack.
MSG and its cousins
Monosodium glutamate is on the line by name. The FDA explains that MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, and that added MSG must be listed as monosodium glutamate, not hidden under "spices" or "flavoring". FDA considers adding MSG to food generally recognized as safe.
The same page notes that some sensitive people report mild, short-lived symptoms after eating three grams or more of MSG without food, while studies with people who believed they were sensitive have not been able to trigger reactions consistently. If you know MSG bothers you, the label tells you it is here.
Hydrolyzed soy protein and sodium inosinate and guanylate are also savory boosters. The FDA notes that foods with hydrolyzed protein naturally contain free glutamate and cannot be labeled "No MSG". We do not make that claim.
Red 40 and Yellow 5
The red color of our carne seca comes partly from chile and partly from FD&C Red #40 and Yellow #5, and that is the reason for the "Artificially colored" line on the pouch. These are certified colors: the FDA approves them for food and tests every batch before it can be used, and the label has to name them.
They are also in the news. In 2025 the FDA and HHS announced a plan to phase out petroleum-based food dyes, and the FDA now says it is working with food makers to remove six certified colors, Red No. 40 and Yellow No. 5 among them, by the end of 2027 through industry pledges. Both colors are still authorized for food today.
The FDA's consumer page also notes that most children show no reaction to food colors, while some evidence suggests certain children may be sensitive. Parents who want to limit them can read the ingredient line, where both colors are named.
The same lines on the jar
The Lumbre Fuego jar has its own label, and it reads the same way. Its ingredient line: salt, maltodextrin, citric acid, dextrose, monosodium glutamate, sugar, onion powder, hydrolyzed soy protein, spice, FD&C Lake Red #40, sodium diacetate, yeast extract, natural flavors and FD&C Lake Yellow #6. Under it: "Contains Soy".
So the jar carries the same three things this note is about: soy, MSG and certified colors. Yellow No. 6 is one of the six colors on the FDA phase-out list, next to Red No. 40 and Yellow No. 5. If you avoid any of them, the jar is not for you either.
Reading the label is one of three notes by the Tizon folks.
