shocked - read the ingredients list!

carolt

Just had Tesco shop delivered and was trying out new item for dd's lunchbox - a small pack of dried pineapple. She likes fresh but it's a bit impractical for packed lunches so thought I'd see how she likes dried pineapple.

Well, luckily I read the ingredients list first before giving it to her - it coyly states it contains 68% dried pineapple (which didn't sound much to me, so read on to find what remaining 32% were going to be), cane sugar (no figure given), pineapple juice (7%), acidity regulator (citric acid) (no figure), and preservative sulphur dioxide (no figure).

Now, assuming that the last 2 ingredients are no more than about 1% each that means that sugar (does describing it as cane sugar make it sound more natural and healthier somehow?) is a whopping 23% - and that's to pineapple, which is sweet already! Feeling slightly sick, I approached the nutrition information section with trepidation. It told me that:
Carbohydrates- 89g per 100g
of which sugars 79.3g!!!!!

So this snack which advertised itself as 'naturally low in fat, suitable for vegetarians, may help to maintain a healthy digestive system' was actually nearly 80% sugar!:eek:

I crossed checked with a pack of sweet kids' biscuits I'd had delivered in the same shop - they were around 30% sugar - bad enough you would think.

How can they advertise a product as healthy when it's effectively just a fruit-flavoured sugar cube?

Is there not some law against this?

I want my money back! Or else this shall be going in the bin. Not that my dd would eat it anyway - she doesn't have a very sweet tooth....

brazilianwax

carolt wrote:

Just had Tesco shop delivered and was trying out new item for dd's lunchbox - a small pack of dried pineapple. She likes fresh but it's a bit impractical for packed lunches so thought I'd see how she likes dried pineapple.

Well, luckily I read the ingredients list first before giving it to her - it coyly states it contains 68% dried pineapple (which didn't sound much to me, so read on to find what remaining 32% were going to be), cane sugar (no figure given), pineapple juice (7%), acidity regulator (citric acid) (no figure), and preservative sulphur dioxide (no figure).

Now, assuming that the last 2 ingredients are no more than about 1% each that means that sugar (does describing it as cane sugar make it sound more natural and healthier somehow?) is a whopping 23% - and that's to pineapple, which is sweet already! Feeling slightly sick, I approached the nutrition information section with trepidation. It told me that:
Carbohydrates- 89g per 100g
of which sugars 79.3g!!!!!

So this snack which advertised itself as 'naturally low in fat, suitable for vegetarians, may help to maintain a healthy digestive system' was actually nearly 80% sugar!:eek:

I crossed checked with a pack of sweet kids' biscuits I'd had delivered in the same shop - they were around 30% sugar - bad enough you would think.

How can they advertise a product as healthy when it's effectively just a fruit-flavoured sugar cube?

Is there not some law against this?

I want my money back! Or else this shall be going in the bin. Not that my dd would eat it anyway - she doesn't have a very sweet tooth....

Ummmm, pineapple is one of the most naturally sugary fruits on its own. It would be well over 60% sugar (I think) just on it's own!

Gingernutmeg

It sounds bad (ad I'm not trying to excuse tesco in any way lol), but you have to remember that dried fruit, of any description, is very, very high in sugar. The drying process concentrates the sugar in the fruit. It's generally natural fruit sugars (like fructose etc) but once you remove moisture from fruit there's not a lot left apart from sugar ... Cane sugar is slightly 'healthier' in the sense that it is less refined than ordinary sugar - but it's up to you whether you think it's healthier . It's also added to make the dried fruit look better. Naturally dried pineapple, which you can get from health food shops, is generally very brown and unappetising, it looks like a piece of old shoe leather lol. Dried pineapple which has had sugar added retains the look of 'pineapple', making it more visually appealing. It's not a fruit flavoured sugar cube though - it does contain the natural fruit fibre and so is therefore legally 'healthy', as many things are in moderation. Also, the pineapple is nowhere near as processed as the biscuits, won't contain anything like the amount of hydrogenated fat ...

If your daughter likes fresh pineapple, then maybe you could get a tin of pineapple in natural unsweetened juice, chop some up and put it in a little tupperware type tub. That's what I used to do The natural pineapple in juice, blended up, also makes the most amazing ice lollies ...

Sugar is low in fat - that's why so many 'diet' and 'lite' foods are so misleading. While they may have low levels of fat in them the flavour often comes from high levels of sugar. Just go and have a look at the 'Go Ahead' range and you'll see what I mean ...

competitionscafe

Yes fruit is high in sugar (fructose) especially dried fruit - which is why I think it's madness for manufacturers to add sugar to it or for example to fruit and nut muesli (like some do eg: Alpen) as it's already high in sugar from the fruit!

By the way not all 'natural' dried fruit is horrible looking some of the sun-dried ones look okay and taste great - Crazy Jack is a decent brand (especially the dried mango), Southern Alps is another good brand but a bit pricey. Dried apricots without the sulphur will always be a rather unappetising brown colour though rather than dayglow orange like the preserved ones! Dried cranberries always seem to have a lot of sugar added too - I guess becasue they are quite sour and drying them concetrates this?

thriftlady_2

Yes, some of the more unusual dried fruits are covered in sugar. I stick to raisins and apricots. A surprising amount of dried fruit has hydrogenated veg oil on it too.

Btw, I've successfully packed fresh pineapple chunks for lunchboxes. Pack in a small plastic tub with a lid and add a spoon or a fork.

saving-grace

My MIL buys Raisin Bran breakfast cereal from Aldi. The raisins are sugar coated!:eek:

V.Lucky

When my son started school last September I bought a pack of three little tubs from Tesco for under a pound. I use one daily for carrot sticks/cucumber/cherry toms and the other for fruit. For fruit I have used tinned and fresh pineapple cut into chunks. Just add a spoon and he's good to go.