Action on Sugar has published a report which found “healthy” fruit snacks actually contain more sugar than sweets with a third of the fruit snacks containing between 15 and 20 grams of sugar.
We have had a look at some of the brands that were included in their report to see just how much sugar was in a recommended portion size.
To put things into perspective, an 18g bag Haribo contains 7.5 grams of sugar
1. Sunsweet HumZingers 100% Fruit Sticks: one 13g fruit stick from the ‘Summer Selection’ contains 5 grams of sugar
2. The Fruit Factory Strawberry, Apple & Orange Fruit Strings: one 20g bag contains 9.4 grams of sugar
3. Fruit Bowl Blackcurrant Peelers: one 20g fruity peeler contains 12 grams of sugar
4. Fruit Bowl Jungle Fruit Shapes: one 18g bag contains 9 grams of the white stuff
5. Fruit Bowl Strawberry Flakes: one 20g bag contains 12 grams of sugar
6. ASDA Chosen by you Yogurt Coated Raisins: one 25g bag contains 15.2 grams of sugar
7. The Fruit Factory Strawberry Fruit Wheels: one 15g wheel contains 2.7 grams of sugar
8. Bear Strawberry and Blackcurrant Pure Fruit Yoyos: one 20g bear contains 4.9 grams of sugar
9. Kellogg’s Strawberry Winders: one 17g winder contains 6.3 grams of sugar
10. ASDA Chosen by you Yogurt Flavoured Coated Strawberry Fruity Bits: one 25g bag contains 16.2 grams of sugar
11. Fruit bowl Yogurt Raisins: one 30g bag contains a staggering 20 grams of sugar
12. Frootz Blackcurrant 100% Fruit Drops: an 18g bag contains 11 grams of sugar
13. Yu! Fruit Chews Strawberry: one 24g bag despite being marketed as 1 of your 5 a day it contains 20.9 grams of sugar
14. Whitworths Sunny Raisin Coated Yogurt Raisins: a 25g portion contains 15.8 grams of sugar
15. Frootz Strawberry 100% Fruit Drops: an 18g bag contains slightly less than its Blackcurrant counterpart containing 10.6 grams of sugar
16. Whitworths Pineapple Pieces: one 25g bag contains a massive 21.4 grams of sugar
17. Fruit Bowl Strawberry Peelers: one 20g fruity peeler contains 12 grams of sugar
Just to be clear: this isn’t the same kind of sugar as a bag of Haribo. The manufacturers like to point out that the products “contain no added sugar,” and they’re right. But people buy them hoping for something low in sugar, and they’re not; they’re full of the kind of sugar that you’d get in an apple. But without all the vitamins and nutrients. Calling them a “healthy” alternative is a bit misleading.
We’re not saying that there aren’t some times that these fruity snacks might not be tasty but on the whole, the marketing is far better than the resulting product and with little fibre or nutrients, it might be better to stick to real fruit. What do you think? Do you eat these products? Are you surprised by the amount of sugar in a suggested serving? We’d love to hear your comments below.
*nutritional information accurate at time of writing
