Want advanced access to my weekly Chewsday Reviews?

Every Tuesday morning receive the latest Chewsday Review delivered directly to your inbox.

SunRice Thin Rice Cakes Sour Cream & Chives | Chewsday Review

SunRice claim their Sour Cream and Chive Flavoured Rice Cakes are "a delicious snack, perfect for every occasion". Let's see how they stack up, and if they get a sweet or sour review.

Ingredients

Whole grain brown rice (82%), sour cream & chives seasoning (milk solids, rice flour, salt, vegetable powders (onion, garlic), sugar, inactive dried yeast, cheese powder (milk), hydrolysed vegetable protein (soy), yeast extract, flavourings (milk), food acid (330), vegetable oil, anti-caking agent (551), flavour enhancer (635), chives, spice extract), vegetable oil.
Nothing too surprising here, this is a fairly standard ingredients list for flavoured rice cakes.
Allergens: milk and soy.

Positives

These are made from 82% wholegrain brown rice. Fibre is 0.9g per serve (approximately 4 rice cakes) which is around 7% of a toddler’s or 5% young child’s daily fibre needs. Interestingly though when we look at fibre per 100g, the Real Foods Corn Thins contain about double the fibre compared to SunRice rice crackers.
At $2.50 per pack or $15.50 per kg, they are a relatively cost effective snack – this works out to around 38c per serve or almost 10c per rice cake. Woolworths own brand is a little cheaper (and still flavoured), coming to $14 per kg.
Total fat and saturated fat are well within the guidelines.
Sugar is within the guidelines, which is to be expected for a savoury product.

Negatives

Salt, salt, and more salt. Given that seasoning makes up almost 18% of the ingredients list, it’s not surprising that the salt content is more than double the guidelines (400mg per 100g) coming in at 801mg per 100g. This is mor than some brands of chips! Per serve (4 rice cakes), you’re looking at almost 200mg of salt which is around 25% of what I’d recommend for a toddler’s maximum daily sodium intake. For older kids it works out to be around 20% of their maximum daily intake. Woolworths Thin Brown Rice Cakes are unflavoured, so have no added salt and come to 5mg of sodium per 100g, and even Woolworths flavoured Sour Cream & Chives Rice Cakes are lower in salt that these, with 472mg per 100g.
These are fairly low in protein and are mostly carbohydrates (not a bad thing by any means!), but on their own they’re not a substantial snack.

Marketing

“Made with Australian brown rice”. It’s always great to see products made in Australia from Australian ingredients.
“Gluten free”. Yes, this is true, but rice is naturally gluten-free so the same can be said for lots of brands of rice cakes. Remember choosing gluten free options is only important for families with coeliac disease or non-coeliac gluten sensitivity. Gluten free does not mean it is “better” for the general population.
“No artificial colours or flavours”. True, but this could be said for lots of products on the market.
“Made with the goodness of wholegrains”. Wholegrains have lots of benefits for our health, but why does the word “goodness” make me cringe?

Alternatives

Rice cakes are a pantry staple for lots of families, and I generally like to choose unflavoured brands and add our own toppings, like cheese, avocado, cream cheese, nut/seed spread or hummus.
If your family prefers a flavoured rice cake, then Woolworths Sour Cream & Chives Rice Cakes are cheaper and have roughly half the amount of salt – but keep in mind they are still quite salty!
For older babies and young toddlers managing the texture of rice cakes, I would stick with unflavoured rice cakes and add a topping or serve alongside something else.