Fruit snack companies have gotten pretty good at advertising their products. "Made with real fruit juice" is a common claim on labels, trying to appeal to consumers that might be skeptical about their nutritional value. The skepticism is warranted, as food science researchers have found that the healthiest fruit snacks aren't actually fruit snacks at all — it's dried fruit.
Currently, only dried fruit, fruit puree, and canned fruit with juice meet the federal guidelines for high-nutrition "fruit snacks," according to researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines the typical fruit snack as "products made with fruit and fruit juices, which may or may not contain added sugar, artificial colors and flavors, and preservatives."
Since these products almost always contain added sugar, it makes sense that the UMass Amherst team found that dried fruit was the more nutritious option. They were packed with the most nutrient density and fiber, with the least amount of added sugar.
Flavored snacks, like gummies, have the lowest nutrient density and fiber content alongside the highest amount of added sugar. Additionally, canned fruit that's packed with something other than juice, and dried flavored fruit, are considered to have less nutrient density and more excess sugar.
As you might expect, eating whole fruits are the best option. However, the reality is that 80 percent of the United States population doesn't meet the daily recommendation of five fruit servings per day. One way to improve these statistics is to utilize fruit snacks that are actually nutrient-dense.
This is what sparked the team's interest in investigating which snacks are the most nutritious. To do this, they collected and analyzed nutritional content for 1,497 fruit snacks, using the Mintel Global New Products Database, from the UMass Libraries. For their research, the team defined fruit snacks as "non-frozen, non-beverage food products mainly made with fruit ingredients."
"Reformulation of fruit snacks is needed… Formed fruit and fruit-based bars could be lower in added sugar to become a more nutritious fruit snack option. Canned fruit with added sugar and fruit-flavored snacks need more reformulation, as they are low in nutrient density and fiber content and high in added sugar. Improving the nutritional quality of fruit snacks can facilitate smart snacking choices,"says food scientist Amanda Kinchla.
"Future direction for the fruit snack category should consider decreasing added sugar content, increasing fiber content and enhancing sensory profile to improve the overall nutrient density," the researchers conclude.