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 the 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 it is 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 2.3 ounce/65 gram bag of their maple flavored bacon jerky. This bag was purchased at a Wal-Mart store in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
Ingredient Review
Ingredients: Pork (Water, Salt, Sugar, Smoke Flavoring, Artificial Maple Flavor, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrate, Smoke).
The pigs used are not guaranteed to have free range access to roam about as nature intended. Contrary to popular belief, fat from bacon is healthy for humans. 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.
An artificial flavor is used to achieve the taste of maple to lose a rating.
The sugar level is at the acceptable upper limit of 5 grams of sugar per 33 grams of jerky for a sweet based flavor as we have here with maple. The salt level is high at 490mg of salt per 28 grams of jerky to lose two ratings with no healthy ingredients listed to offset.
This jerky does use unhealthy sodium nitrite as the main preservative to lose a rating. Sodium phosphate and sodium erythorbate are also used as preservatives. Commendably, this jerky does qualify to have no MSG added.
Fair (4/10) – Ingredient Rating
Taste Review
GREAT VALUE – MAPLE BACON JERKY
Written by guest jerky reviewer Paul Rekker
When I open the bag, I smell maple (sweet). The pieces resemble bacon bits in appearance, just a little larger. Therefore, the jerky is sliced small and thin. The jerky is dry and hard, very much unlike any bacon jerky we have tried before.
The first tastes I encounter are salt, maple (sweet), pepper, not quite sure whether I am picking up much, if any garlic or onion, and I am definitely picking up on the taste of pork.
Here’s where I fear I’m going to lose my partners in crime. I am actually very much enjoying this flavor of jerky. It is worlds above what I was expecting. I’m thoroughly enjoying the relative crispiness of this bacon, along with the bacon flavor. I so much feared that the maple flavor would drown out the other flavors, but that is just not the case here.
There is some fat on this jerky, which is common with bacon jerky, but it is greatly enhancing the overall flavor. Gentlemen, flog me with cane sticks later if you’re so inclined, but I am a disciple of this particular flavor and am quite comfortable rating it a 10/10. Never in my lifetime did I ever see myself rating a (Great Value) flavor at a 10. If anyone doesn’t like their jerky, I’d be happy to ‘dispose’ of it for them…
Here is what Mark had to say about this maple bacon jerky flavor from Great Value: “Thanks Paul for the great taste review. In all honesty, you’re right. I never saw this coming with such a glowing review. Yes, the texture is drier than most bacon jerky, and the fat does enhance the flavor of bacon. There is a reasonable facsimile of maple flavor present to pull it off. My complaint is that this flavor is rather one-dimensional. No garlic or onion used for example, to liven up the overall flavor profile.”
“Due to COVID-10, we are down to only Paul and me for this review from the Group of Seven. I was more at a 6 or 7 taste rating, where this flavor tastes alright, and possibly even decent tasting. We shall split the difference here.”
This 2.3 ounce/65 gram bag of jerky cost $4.47. That works out to $1.94 an ounce, which rates at a cheap price.
Bag Review
This plastic resealable bag has everything imprinted on the bag itself, both on the front and back. There are some high-resolution pictures of maple leafs and bacon on the bag. As per Canadian law, there are French translations provided.
There are no slogans printed on this bag. Some facts stated on this bag are “140 Calories”, “Product of U.S.A.”, “High in Protein”, “8g Fat”, “490mg Sodium”, “5g Sugars”, and “Artificial Flavour”.
There are no bag categories missing. On the front, there is a tiny blurb printed about this maple flavor. To the credit of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., a satisfaction guaranteed offer is offered.
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