Um.......you know this whole Fruit Shoot thing?..........

[ludaloo]

[ducking to avoid any trouble]

I missed the actual Fruit Shoots debate and I really am not wanting to bring it all up again as I gather it was a bit of a mammouth thread!!!!
But I was at a party and the mother of the little girl who's party it was, had bought packs of Fruit Shoots to hand around.
Now just from being on MN I knew that they could be controversial. Two mums asked if their children could have juice instead, which lead to a small debate. The mother in charge then went on to reassure everyone that she studies the contents of things very carefully. She apparently works in the food industry and explained that FS were one of the "better" fruit drinks. She also went on to say that the drinks with "sugar fee" and "sweetners" were particularly bad for children and could trigger all kinds of problems health and behaviour wise.

Now I am very confused...does anyone actually have the "definitive" answer to whether Fruit Shoots are ok or not???

Well my children had a mcdonalds and a fruit shoot yesterday but it was a special treat! I'm with all the 'in moderation' gang, mine don't ever have them at home but on the odd occasion they do have them it doesn't seem to do them any harm (ie they don't go hyper)

Contrary to what it may seem in my earlier post, I'm also in the "in moderation" camp, but only insofar as the odd biscuit/cake/ice cream etc. is concerned and only after reading the ingredients (I'm veggie so am well used to reading ingredients due to necessity). What I won't consider even in moderation are the artificial flavourings, colourings and other e-number packed food marketed at children. I really don't get why manufacturers feel the necessity to make and market "fake" foods. WTF's the point of fruit flavoured drinks when real fruit or fruit juice is perfectly adequate? It's not even as if the stuff costs less than ordinary fruit juice. It really makes my blood boil that these things are marketed as healthy.

The same thing happens with baby food - I once bought a Hipp sugar free (fruit only) fruit juice for babies and found it sickeningly sweet, so I can only imagine the other brands that contain sugar. As someone earlier pointed out babies don't need juice so why are these even on the market? It's just so that food manufacturers can catch them young, get them hooked on excessively sweet tastes and then peddle them all sorts of cloying rubbish when they're older. Oops, going off on a tangent. Rant over, sorry!

Anyway, back to the original argument - I do realise that my DD is going to get offered things like FS when she's older and I'm not going to lose any sleep over it, but while she's little and needs proper nutrients (and I still have control) she's not going anywhere near such things. Which is also why my mad MIL is not allowed to have her without me there .

My DS1 (7) and DD (5) are trained to ask for water at parties etc.

It helps that one of DS1's best pals only ever drinks water, so mums at parties etc are prepared with a jug.

I always offer water too, tho I only serve Rock's organic squash at parties.

Does anyone else get annoyed with the habit of calling squash "juice" (and thus actual juice is "fresh orange" wtf???). Or is this just where I live? If I'm confused what must the children think?

i used to give them to my son but dont now that i know theyre bad,

but i do give him juice in a fruit shoot bottle sometimes when hes being awkward when out and about (keep an empty bottle)

it does work but i feel like sticking a sticker on it for the other mums that says 'juice not fruitshoot'

lol

oh and BTW, MIL had a lil party boxing day, DS was fine - she gave him a fruitshoot and about 30 mins later he completely FLIPPED, shouting throwing stuff & had a facial eczema outbreak

coincidence?? i think not

I have been known to serve fruit shoots at parties - apple ones carefully chosen to blend with my green carpet. But it is more for the ease of the container than anything - IME children always spill squash at parties. I never buy them to keep in the house though, although my MIL does. DS recently went to a party where they only served coke and fizzy orange. He doesn't drink fizzy pop so didn't have a drink. I have told him that next time he should ask politely for water.

kitty you can buy fairly cheap plain sports top bottles to put your own juice in. DS has to have one to take water to school in.

Tropicana Go is an expensive but additive free mixture of fruit and water. My dd loves them for a treat. Although I am of the opinion that an occasional Fruit Shoot will do little harm, I certainly will avoid buying them because I hate the fact that they are designed to 'trick' parents into thinking that they are a fruit juice and somehow healthy.

Fruit Shoots are like any other Juice Drink... they don't contain that much Juice.

The Food Commission has a list on their website of Juice percentages in a variety of drinks aimed at children. LowJuice 2004

Like many Juice Drinks, Fruit Shoots contain Benzoates and Sorbates. See Food Standards Agency Survey of Benzoates and Sorbates in Soft Drinks

Are Fruit Shoots bad? They are not as good as pure water, but that need not mean they are bad. It is your choice what you give your children and products such as Juice Drinks I feel can be enjoyed on an occasional basis.

Organic juice drinks such as Rocks Organic Cordial may appear to be better, but looking closely at the label will tell you that percentage of fruit is 40% or less (depending on the product) and often the next ingredient is Sugar, so sugar level I expect is quite high.

If you want to avoid as many additives as possible, and also added sugar then avoid Juice Drinks.

Just my view of course

My dd took part in a study about the effects of colours/enumbers etc on children's behaviour and we had to follow a booklet of things which she couldn't have - all which contained one thing or another that could/would effect behaviour. Fruit shoots were a definite no-no because they contain the preservative sodium benzoate.

That said it's all found in lots of squashes as well.

I don't get the whole "treat" thing either.
why is it a treat to have a chemical laden fake fruit drink???

Its a treat because the majority of kids I know like them but dont get them that often. I generally dont buy them at all but if they are served at a party which is normally the case then I wouldnt stop them having one. Also, if we are out and I find it difficult to get anything else.

I dont ban anything really, everything in moderation, I was banned certain foods when I was younger and it left me with a lot of problems related to foods, I dont want to put my kids through that. I would rather educate them to eat and drink well and monitor what they eat and drink.

well, I generally don't ban things either. I like the everything in moderation approach.

it just doesn't include carcinogenic sweetners that have been banned in many other countries.

not really that much of a treat is it?