You know that Frank's Red Hot slogan, "I put that sh*t on everything?". Well, that is me with banana ketchup, specifically the Jufran brand. Growing up in the Philippines, through adult life in Dallas, Texas, I put that stuff on everything! Silog breakfasts, fried chicken, fish eggrolls, porkchops... if it is savory, I will 99.99% slap on some Jufran banana ketchup on it. I wish I had photographic evidence, but as a kid shopping at SM supermarket with my family, every month we would purchase banana ketchup- not by the bottles- but by the JAR. Yep, this body was built on banana ketchup and chickenjoy.
Moving to the States in the late 2000s, obtaining banana ketchup was surprisingly not difficult and was a blessing during the years where the cultural transition from Manila to Dallas was rough for a tween girl. North Texas at the time never had a huge deficiency in Filipino residents, but they did in lack in Filipino restaurants, events, and most importantly grocery stores. All we had at Hiep Thai Store was 35% of an aisle dedicated to Filipino pantry essentials (now decades later, we have almost a full aisle!). Back to the 2000s, the minuscule of an aisle we got still included a dedicated section to banana ketchup (usually UFC brand instead of Jufran, but that was just a matter of preference, they are both good!). I may have had a huge identity crisis and culture shock decades prior, but hey, I have always had banana ketchup consistently----until the 2024 Banana Ketchup Ban/Shortage happened. If you have not seen my summarized video, let me give you a brief timeline:
October 2024 - The US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) issues a ban on the import of banana ketchup from the Philippines in to the US due to certain ingredients being deemed unsafe in foods. These ingredients are: potassium iodate, sodium bromide, and Red 40.
Between October and November 2024 - Banana ketchup brands in The Philippines has agreed to reformulate the recipe in accordance to the FDA guidelines.
November 2024 - The FDA ban was lifted, but the arrival of the new reformulated banana ketchup bottles will not start arriving until early to mid-2025.
Between November 2024 and June 2025 - In my monthly checking of stock in every Asian grocery store in the Dallas area, I have not seen any. My supplies were dwindling fast!
Late June 2025 - I made a video about the shortage and a viewer let me know that an Asian grocery store 35 minutes northwest of me has stocked their shelves with the new reformulated bottles.
Now: I volunteer as tribute to taste test the new vs old banana ketchup recipes. Below are my findings:
Upon first taste, there was an immediate decrease in sourness. It was noticeable enough, but not in a disappointing way. You can still tell this is banana ketchup, just slightly modified. A secondary noticeable taste difference was it was less salty. I swear I am not trying to sound smart or anything, but I feel like it has to do with the ingredient difference- specifically the salt. The pre-ban batch used iodized salt, while the reformulated batch just has "salt". In my kitchen, I have never noticed the difference between iodized and non-iodized salt. I am not a super taster, they're both salty! However, a quick google search confirmed that iodized salt IS saltier than regular salt. Ultimately, other than those two, the new FDA-approved recipe is not so far from the original one. I do feel like the differences were noticed because I was trying to find some.
Below are the changes in ingredient list:
OLD BATCH - Water, Sugar, Banana, Modified Starch (Corn), Vinegar, Iodized Salt (Salt, Potassium Iodate), Onion, Chili, Garlic, 0.1% Sodium Benzoate as preservative, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Red No. 40, Titanium Dioxide and Natural Banana Flavor
NEW BATCH - Water, Sugar, Banana, Modified Starch (Corn), Vinegar, Salt, Onion, Chili, Garlic, Sodium Benzoate as preservative, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Red No. 40, Artificial Banana Flavor (The food colors used may have negative effect on the activity and concentration of children
As a reminder, the banned ingredients were: potassium iodate, sodium bromide, and Red 40. The written differences in ingredients were:
iodized salt to regular salt
Yellow No. 5 to Yellow No. 6
0.1% Sodium Benzoate to Sodium Benzoate
Titanium Dioxide being removed
Natural Banana Flavor to Artificial Banana Flavor
The addition of a disclaimer about food colors' potential effect on young minds
Just from my average brain and no real research on these ingredients, let me explain my takes. I am making a slightly educated guess that the reason they switched from natural to artificial banana taste is because FDA deemed potassium iodate unsafe. Bananas are proven to be a good source of potassium, therefore switching to artificial frees the recipe of the chemical. Secondly, regular salt lacks iodine--IODATE, need I say more? In the topic of chemicals, I want to assume that the slight change in Sodium Benzoate is to be in compliance with the sodium bromide ban. That's it. I have no more educated contribution about that, haha! Finally, they added a disclaimed about food colors and how it could affect children. I think that might be something the FDA requires due to the ongoing Red 40 scares? It's possible.
Basically, new recipe is good and I am glad the differences are minimal. I am more glad that I no longer feel the need to ration out my stock of banana ketchup (6 bottles in 9 months, if anyone was curious!
For more banana ketchup fanfare, checkout this silly idea I have for celebratory purposes. I also have a video version of this article here.