Fruit snacks
Here is Annie’s homegrown organic Bunny Fruit Snacks: Summer Strawberry. Multiply eye-catching claims on the box are designed to assure you that the fruit snack is of highest nutritional quality:
- All natural strawberry flavors
- No icky additives or pesky preservatives
- Made with real fruit juice
- No artificial colors
- USDA organic
Yes, this all is true. But this is not all the truth about the snack. Why they don’t claim the whole snack as “all natural” and flavors only, is there a catch? Well, how do you call it when the “summer strawberry” is made without strawberry? The truth is that many various Bunny Fruit mimics are made with the same fruit, a white grape juice concentrate, to which sugar, tapioca syrup, vegetable oil and carnauba wax are added. The tiny difference comes from flavors, not from the actual fruits. Look for yourself:
DyeDiet RECOMMENDED
Annie's Bunny Summer Strawberry: Risk and Nutrition
No wonder that by its jelly texture Annie’s Bunnies resemble Swedish Fish candy containing sugar, corn syrup, mineral oil and carnauba wax. However don’t get me wrong, of course Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks are way healthier… candy: The diagram is mostly green! Typically this means that a product is nutritious and safe if eaten in moderation (see post Food Toxicity and Moderation). Indeed you get zero foreign additives risk DDFI = 0 (no red segments!) and descent nutritional value of DDNF = 26/11 ~2.4. Sugar content 10 g per 23 g serving.
Undoubtedly the above product is safe to eat in moderation but before you buy it take a look at All-Natural Fruit Strips of Stretch Island Fruit Co.:
Stretch Island Fruit Strips: Risk and Nutrition
As you may see, this is a bit different story. Their orchard cherry or harvest grape strips are made of real fruits: apples, cherries and oranges or apples grapes and pears. The strips have a texture of dried fruits because of natural presence of fibers. Therefore Stretch Island Fruit Co. does not need to add sugars, oils and waxes. Isn’t it nice? Accordingly, orchard cherry has zero foreign risk DDFI = 0 (no red segments!) and descent nutritional value of DDNF = 10/4 = 2.5. Sugar content 9 g per 14 g serving.
Bottom line: So both Annie’s and Stretch Island’s fruit strips are equally safe and nutritious but the latter are superior simply because natural fruits are healthier than a man-maid composition of nutrients. You can buy both fruit snacks at a local Walmart and both are “DyeDiet recommended.” I have tried the both and found Stretch Island’s strips tastier and overall better because they are not jelly.
Make your informed healthy choice and enjoy your food!
Category: DyeDiet RECOMMENDED, Fruit snacks
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