Oh My Goodness Grapeness!
Stop. The. Presses. Do I have a Cart Confession for you! It’s almost embarrassing.
At NuVal, we are scoring just about every product that you can find in a grocery store. To date, we’ve scored over 70,000 products. It’s a huge job and it takes time. So, that means that there are still products out there that we have in our queue, but we haven’t scored yet. Honest Kids Goodness Grapeness was one of those products. Until now.
A litle history here. I have been giving my kids these watery juice drinks for about a year now. My mom introduced me to them. She found them at a Very Well-Known “Healthy” and High Priced Supermarket Where You Just Might Spend Your Whole Paycheck. And, gosh, they looked so healthy. Consider this:
- She found them at that Über-Healthy Grocery Store, where everything is healthy, right?
- It says “Low Sugar” right on the front of the package.
- It says “100% Daily Vitamin C” right there on front the package.
- It says “Organic” right there on the front of the package.
- It says “No high fructose corn syrup” right there on the front of the package.
So even though we had not scored them yet at NuVal, I thought they they would get a pretty good score once we did score them. I mean, I was really confident about it. I have been putting these in my shopping cart every week for the past year (they do carry them at the not-so-hoity-toity supermarkets too). My kids love them so much and they call them, “Thank Goodness Grapeness.” Awwww. How cute.
So imagine my shock when, while reviewing some NuVal scores for shelf-stable juices last week, I discovered that we recently scored this product. And that Honest Kids Goodness Grapeness scores a 3. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhh! I think that the scoring team could hear me screaming all the way down on the first floor of the NuVal offices.
I checked in with Rachel Rodek, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD and Manager of Nutrition Communications at NuVal, to find out Why, Oh WHY, my beloved Thank Goodness Grapeness only scored a 3. The reason is that these juice boxes (bags, really) have more sugar than grape juice. The ingredient list reads water, sugar, grape juice concentrate. Sugar is before grape juice in the ingredient list. Sigh!! Who knew? So, we’re back to Minute Maid Fruit Falls, which score a much better 41 on the NuVal scale.
And this is why God (well, Dr. Katz and his team of scientific experts, really) created NuVal!
Posted by: Melissa 9 comments
Posted in: Cart Confessions
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 7:27 am
I always say, just because they sell it at Whole Foods or in the healthy living section of a grocery store doesn’t mean it’s good for you. That’s why I read the nutrition facts and ingredients lists…not the front of the package where the marketers are trying to help sell their products (darn marketers! I can say that since I’m a marketer myself, ha!)
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 8:26 am
What is sad is that the sugar is probably not even needed!!!
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 8:27 am
I hope the kids and you aren’t to traumatized by this. That is a bummer, especially when you think it is all good. I agree with Joanna’s comments. I’ve started looking more at the sugar and sodium values of the food along with the list of ingredients.
Thank you Nuval!
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Yep. If it isn’t plain pure water or 100% juice we don’t pack it. I was wondering about these though. Thanks for the helpful info!
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Ah well. At least the 100% juice is probably cheaper!
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I agree no sugar is needed
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
that is a crazy low score! thanks goodness you found out!
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
I thought the Minute Maid Fruit Falls have splenda in them? Is that safer for kids than sugar?
on Jul 26th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
That’s a good example of how “organic” isn’t always “healthy”