Florida's Natural Au'some Fruit Juice Nuggets

By: Tanya Taylor, PhD | Sep 27, 2005

Florida's Natural is famous for that 100% NOT made from concentrate orange juice - freshly squeezed, nothing added. So it seems like they are branching out from juices, and this is like a natural extension, since it is, "made with real fruits and fruit juices" according to the label. Just in case you don't know what fruit juice nuggets are, they are like Gummy Bears or Fruit Roll Ups, i.e. soft and chewy. The 4 ounce box had 8 pouches with 0.5 ounces, which was a bit too small for my liking, so I doubt that having just one pouch would really constitute a snack. In fact, you could hold all the juice nuggets from one pouch into the palm of one hand. I am only complaining about the small amount because these nuggets were so good. They were sweet and chewy, but really - has a bad tasting fruit juice chewy candy ever been produced? I don't think so.

Right on the front of the box, it says there is 100% vitamin C plus 8 vitamins and minerals. A quick scan of the nutrition label confirms that there are 30% of many vitamins and minerals in a serving, which is 3 pouches. From the 3 pouches, you get 130 calories, no fat, but 25 grams of sugar (about 8 grams per pouch), which is about the same amount of sugar in a cup of juice. But, don't be fooled by branding. Florida's Natural fruit juice nugget is about the same as any of the other fruit chews, such as Gummy Bears and Fruit Roll Ups. Fruit Roll Ups are also made from fruit juice and have a similar amount of sugar. So the main difference may be in price and not 'nutritional value.' The juice nuggets were about $2.50 for the box.

Overall, I don't think this is considered a 'healthy snack' despite all the vitamins and minerals. If you must feed the sugar need, this is no better than the other brands out there - no worse either.

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