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A fruit snack is a type of gummy snack made with fruit flavoring and natural gelatin. They were first made by confectioner Louis Shalhoub in the 1970s as a lightweight high energy snack food for backpackers. Although they are often marketed as a healthier alternative to regular gummy candies, the veracity of these claims is disputed, as fruit snacks typically contain fruit flavoring instead of actual fruit.
The first modern fruit snack was Joray Fruit Rolls, which were developed by confectioner Louis Shalhoub in the 1970s. [1] It was used by backpackers as a lightweight, high-energy food.
The name fruit snack was first used in 1983 by General Mills, which they used to describe their version of Shalhoub's product, Fruit Roll-Ups. [1]
By the mid-1980s, the fruit snack was a multimillion-dollar business. However, sales peaked in 2013 and declined over the next few years. [2]
 | This article is missing information about vitamin fortification and its (lack of?) significance.(July 2021) |
More than half the weight of the fruit snacks is simple sugars. [3] They also contain an average of 12% water by weight, 25% starch, a small amount of fat, and a negligible amount of protein. [3]
The nutritional value or content of fruit snacks has long been contested. [4] Much of the controversy surrounds the nutritional value, especially surrounding its sugar content, which is found in large amounts in some fruit snacks. [5]
Despite the overall lack of nutritional value, most fruit snacks have a considerable portion of Vitamin C but tend to be lacking in most other micronutrients. [6]
In some cases, manufactures of fruit snacks have faced class-action lawsuits over their marketing claims that fruit snacks are "healthy." [7]
Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections.
Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called sugar confectionery, encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum, and sugar candy. Vegetables, fruit, or nuts which have been glazed and coated with sugar are said to be candied.
A prune is a dried plum, most commonly from the European plum tree. Not all plum species or varieties can be dried into prunes. A prune is the firm-fleshed fruit (plum) of Prunus domestica varieties that have a high soluble solids content, and do not ferment during drying. Use of the term "prune" for fresh plums is obsolete except when applied to varieties of plum grown for drying.
"Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calories from macronutrients such as sugar and fat, and often also high in sodium, making it hyperpalatable, and low in dietary fiber, protein, or micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. It is also known as "high in fat, salt and sugar food". The term junk food is a pejorative dating back to the 1950s.
Breakfast cereal is a category of food, including food products, made from processed cereal grains that are eaten as part of breakfast, or as a snack food, primarily in Western societies.
Candy corn is a small, pyramid-shaped candy, typically divided into three sections of different colors, with a waxy texture and a flavor based on honey, sugar, butter, and vanilla. It is a staple candy of the fall season and Halloween in North America.
Gummy bears are small, fruit gum candies, similar to a jelly baby in some English-speaking countries. The candy is roughly 2 cm (0.8 in) long and shaped in the form of a bear. The gummy bear is one of many gummies, popular gelatin-based candies sold in a variety of shapes and colors.
Nerds is an American candy launched in 1983 by the Sunmark Corporation under the brand name Willy Wonka Candy Company. Nerds are now made by the Ferrara Candy Company, a subsidiary of Ferrero Group. but is still distributed internationally by Nestlé. With their anthropomorphic covers, Nerds usually contain two flavors per box, each flavor having a separate compartment and opening.
Golden Crisp, also known as Sugar Crisp in Canada, is a brand of breakfast cereal made by Post Consumer Brands that consists of sweetened, candy-coated puffed wheat and is noted for its high sugar content. It was introduced in the United States in 1948.
Jolly Rancher is an American brand of sweet hard candy, gummies, jelly beans, lollipops, sour bites, and a line of soda put out by Elizabeth Beverage Company in 2004. Originally created in Colorado in the 1950s, the Jolly Rancher brand has been owned by The Hershey Company since 1996.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group that advocates for safer and healthier foods.
Kid Cuisine is a brand of packaged frozen meals first sold in April 1989 and marketed by Conagra Foods. Described as a "frozen food version of a Happy Meal", the product is marketed towards children, while assuring parents of nutritional benefits. The mascot of the brand is a penguin named K.C., while the former was a different penguin named B.J. and a polar bear named "The Chef".
Fruit Roll-Ups is a brand of snack that debuted in grocery stores across America in 1983. It is a flat, corn syrup-based, fruit-flavored snack rolled into a tube, spread on a backing sheet of cellophane to prevent the product from sticking to itself.
Energy Brands, also doing business as Glacéau, is a privately owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company based in Whitestone, Queens, New York, that manufactures and distributes various lines of drinks marketed as enhanced water. Founded in May 1996 by J. Darius Bikoff with an electrolyte enhanced line of water called Smartwater, Energy Brands initially distributed its products to health food stores and independent retailers in the New York area. Adding Fruitwater and Vitaminwater to its line in 1998 and 2000, respectively, the company expanded to nationwide distribution in the early 2000s.
Lemonhead is an American brand of candy that was first introduced in 1962, produced by the Ferrara Candy Company. Lemonheads are a round, lemon-flavored candy consisting of a sweet coating, soft sour shell, and a hard candy core. Other popular flavors are Grapeheads, Cherryheads and Appleheads.
Flintstones Chewable Vitamins are a supplemental multivitamin for children, shaped like the characters of the animated sitcom The Flintstones. They were introduced in 1968 by Miles Laboratories and taste sweet like candy. Miles Laboratories was acquired by Bayer in 1979.
Gummies, gummi candies, gummy candies, or jelly sweets are a broad category of gelatin-based chewable sweets. Gummy bears, Sour Patch Kids, and Jelly Babies are widely popular and are a well-known part of the sweets industry. Gummies are available in a wide variety of shapes, most commonly seen as colorful depictions of living things such as bears, babies, or worms. Various brands such as Bassett's, Haribo, Albanese, Betty Crocker, Hersheys, Disney and Kellogg's manufacture various forms of gummy snacks, often targeted at young children. The name "gummi" originated in Germany, with the terms "jelly sweets" or "gums" more common in the United Kingdom.
In United States law, a food of minimal nutritional value is one that USDA has determined contain little to no nutritional value; these foods may not be sold in competition with the school lunch and breakfast programs. For example, sugar candy, soda pop without fruit juices, and chewing gum are considered to be foods of minimal nutritional value. Candy containing nuts or chocolate is considered to have some nutritional value.
Vegetable chips are chips (crisps) that are prepared using vegetables other than potatoes. Vegetable chips may be fried, deep-fried, dehydrated, dried, or baked. Many different root vegetables or leaf vegetables may be used. Vegetable chips may be eaten as a snack food and may accompany other foods such as dips, or be used as a topping on dishes. In the United States, vegetable chips are often mass-produced, with many brands marketed to consumers.
Gummy supplements, are dietary supplements delivered as gummy-candy-like products, most commonly comprising vitamins. They are often used as a more palatable alternative to other supplement formulations.