In 1950, Sam Walton and his wife Helen opened their Walton’s 5&10 store on the downtown square in Bentonville, Arkansas. Sam opened the first Walmart store in 1962 at the age of 44 in Rogers, Arkansas. Walmart was founded with goals of offering lower prices and great service. In 1970, Walmart went public at $16.50 per share. Today in 2018, Walmart is getting close to half a trillion dollars of annual sales. This Great Value brand of jerky is distributed by Wal-Mart Canada Corp., and they are located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. This jerky is almost certainly manufactured by a private labeler.
The next review on Great Value will focus on a 2.8 ounce/80 gram bag of their original flavored beef jerky. This bag was purchased at a Wal-Mart store in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Beef, Water, Brown Sugar, Corn Syrup, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Spices, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Sodium Nitrite, Smoke. Allergen Warnings: Soy
The beef used is not guaranteed to be free of growth hormones or additional antibiotics. Also, the beef is not guaranteed to have at least partial free range access to graze on grass. As a result, the highest ingredient rating that can be awarded is a Good (8/10) rating.
The liquid marinade used here is comprised of only water, and unhealthy corn syrup.
The sugar level is a little high at 4 grams of sugar per 28 grams of jerky to lose one rating. Our preference is 3 grams of sugar or under for a non-sweet based flavor as we have here with original. The salt level is low at 220mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky.
This jerky does use unhealthy sodium nitrite as the main preservatives to lose a rating. Citric acid acts as a preservative also to a lesser degree.
This jerky does not qualify to be MSG free, as the highly processed cheap flavor enhancer hydrolyzed soy protein is used to lose a rating.
Average (5/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
Written by guest jerky reviewer Stéphane Leclerc
Right from the start this Great Value – Original Beef Jerky is rather uninspiring and somewhat bland tasting. The texture is not overly pleasant, the taste is generic and nothing really stands out or sparks any interest. This jerky does not feel fun or exciting; it mostly feels like chewing for the sake of chewing.
A light level of salt is present on the first bite along with a faint level of garlic and perhaps a light level of onion. The sweetness and smokiness are both at mild levels and they blend fairly well. There is some natural beef flavor present but it lacks in richness. These beef strips feel processed and unnatural; I also note an unpleasant greasy feeling rolling on my tongue. The natural flavor of beef is important in an Original flavor but there is a cost here where this meat comes across as a lower grade.
These strips of jerky are small to medium in size and they are sliced to a medium thickness. The texture is dry, inconsistent and takes some effort to chew. There is not much of any aroma to these strips.
Paul mostly captured our general feeling in the following statement: “Not one aspect of this jerky flavor jumps out at you, other than the natural beef flavor. I like the term uninspiring to describe this flavor. Nothing is blowing me away here; it is just normal tasting jerky. There is no kick whatsoever. This jerky is coming across so uninspiring”.
The Great Value – Original Beef Jerky would probably be better suited for budget conscious people without high expectation who prefer a plain tasting flavor. You could probably do worse than this flavor and we’ve awarded an Average (5/10) taste rating.
This 2.8 ounce/80 gram bag of jerky cost $3.97. That works out to $1.71 an ounce, which rates as a cheap price.
Bag Review
This plastic resealable bag has everything imprinted on the bag itself, both on the front and back. There is a graphic of a bull’s head displayed. As per Canadian law, there are French translations provided.
There are no slogans printed on this bag. Some facts stated on this bag are “High in Protein”, “Low in Fat”, “Product of U.S.A.”, “Smoked”, “11g Protein”, and “No Artificial Flavors or Colors”.
The only bag category missing is a blurb printed about this original flavor or the Great Value jerky brand name. To the credit of Wal-Mart Canada Corp., a satisfaction guaranteed offer is offered.
How do we ascertain how much water is actually in the jerky? It says it needs to be refrigerated or used within three days of opening. That leads me to believe the water content is far too high, well above the recommended 5 -7% for a shelf life of 2 years in a sealed container.
Hi Jo, Thanks for the comment. We don’t know who much water there is precisely, but the ingredients listed are by weight. We have seen jerky bags that do have warnings to refrigerate after so many days. We have also seen jerky bags that warn not to refrigerate. My personal opinion is that by putting the jerky in a refrigerator, it starts to alter the taste. We routinely eat jerky three or four days old. We have no reservations whatsoever to eat jerky at least four days old safely.