False Fruit

How does General Mills get away with “Strawberry Fruit By The Foot”, but it doesn’t have any strawberries?

If you look at the ingredients in General Mills’ “Fruit By The Foot”, the first ingredient on the label is “Pears from Concentrate”. The FDA allows companies to claim that these are made from “real fruit”, even if it is from a fruit byproduct, such as a concentrate. There is no real fruit, which is full of fiber and nutrients. Fruit concentrate starts off as fruit, which is then boiled down to a syrup. This heating process destroys any beneficial nutrients. The concentration process involves both adding in and subtracting chemicals and natural plant byproducts, in order to condense the liquid. During the concentration process, the fruit flavor is lost. That is why companies have to re-add “flavoring” to make the concentrate taste like real fruit.

The first four ingredients in “Fruit by the Foot” are forms of sugar, with little to no nutritional value.

One repercussion of feeding your kids sugary snacks is that their taste buds become addicted to the sweet taste and they won’t develop the ability to appreciate the taste of bitter foods, such as healthy green veggies.

Fruit by the Foot also contains 11 possible GMO ingredients:

1. Sugar
2. Corn Syrup
3. Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil
4. Maltodextrin
5. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
6. Citric Acid
7. Sodium Citrate
8. Malic Acid
9. Xanthan Gum
10. Potassium Citrate
11. Acetylated Monoglycerides

What other potentially harmful ingredients are in Fruit by the Foot?

1. Partially Hydrogenated Oil
2. Carrageenan
3. Natural Flavors
4. Artificial Colors; Blue No. 1,Yellow No. 5 & Red No. 40
5. Acetylated Monoglycerides

Don’t think Fruit Roll Ups or Fruit Gushers are any better. They are basically made up of the same ingredients.

What Are The Alternatives?

1. Real Fruit
2. Dried Fruit
3. Make Your Own Homemade Fruit Rolls
4. Store Bought Organic Brands

For More Information