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Tell MNHQ what you think of the idea of us campaigning with BEAR for changes in food packaging

3 replies

MichelleMumsnet · 27/10/2015 13:15

Three weeks ago, BEAR asked Mumsnetters for their views on a number of questions about what mattered to them when it came to buying snacks for their children’s lunchboxes. Over 900 of you responded (thank you!), and the research showed that 9 in 10 respondents are concerned about the amounts of highly processed ingredients in children’s fruit snacks, and that over half were unclear about what fruit snacks counted towards their child’s 5-a-day. What came through most strongly was that 3 in 4 want fruit juice concentrates to be declared on front-of-pack. BEAR's explanation of concentrates is that they 'are fruit juices that have been boiled at a high temperature down to a syrup, removing water and flavour, and then reconstituted later adding water and flavour packs, stripping out a lot of fibre and leaving more processed fruit sugars’.

The labelling of concentrates on front of pack is already compulsory on fruit juice packaging in the UK www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192357/fruit-juice-si-20130425.pdf, but this doesn't apply to fruit snacks. BEAR wants to change that, and is lobbying the Department of Health (DoH) to address this. BEAR has asked if Mumsnet would like to co-sign the letter that will go to the DoH demanding this change.
So, we'd like you to let us know what you think. Should Mumsnet get behind a change in packaging that means that it’s compulsory for fruit concentrates to be declared on the front of pack?

Everyone who shares their opinions on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher!

Thanks
MNHQ

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MNHQ

MichelleMumsnet · 30/10/2015 10:13

Morning MNers

Thanks for all the contributions so far. Bear have asked us to post up the following in response to some of the points that have been made - as ever, do please let us know what you think.

"What do you mean when you say that BEAR snacks are ‘gently baked’?
To make BEAR snacks, we take the ripe fruit, peel it, chop it, blend it as you would a puree at home (without any heating or any other messing about), and then put it on baking trays. These trays are put into traditional baking ovens, and baked overnight at 42 degrees centigrade slowly, overnight. We then roll the big sheets, and slice them into yoyos, or press them with cookie cutter style shapes for our ‘paws’."

"How are concentrated fruit snacks different?
The fruit juice is taken from the fruit, and then cooked intensely and very quickly at a very high temperature (usually +100 degrees) for a short period of time, down to a paste or syrup. This makes it easier to store/gives it a longer shelf life but unfortunately the fast and harsh process results in a lot of the fibre being stripped out, and leaves more processed fruit sugars- this really affects how the body processes the natural sugar, as without the fibre, the sugars rush into the bloodstream more quickly and can be stored as fat . Water is then added back at a later stage, along with flavour cocktails. Snacks made from concentrates require the use of extrusion machines- these are what are used in confectionary. The fruit juices are poured into the machines, often with gumming or bulking agents, and through further heating and high pressure, shaped snacks are then made. Concentrated fruit snacks are not compliant with the Children’s Food Trust guidelines on what is allowed in school lunchboxes."

"Are BEAR snacks sugary?
BEAR snacks contain sugars that you find in the fruit that we make our products from- we never add any sugar, or use concentrates, gumming agents or similar stuff. A pack of BEAR Yoyos or Paws contains the same sugars as a fresh apple (7.5g for a BEAR snack vs around 10g for an average apple). We deliberately bake using fruits that are naturally lower in sugar- e.g. apples and pears rather than higher sugar fruits such as bananas, and within this pick the less sweet varieties- e.g. baking with granny smiths rather than pink ladies."

"Are fruit snacks bad for my children’s teeth?
Real fruit and fresh baked fruit do contain naturally occurring sugars, so before we launched BEAR we consulted the Head of Paediatric Dentistry at Leeds University- his view was that the impact of our pure fruit and veg snacks on dental health is the same as that of fresh fruit as they’re eaten in one go. When snacks are eaten all in one go, saliva can get to work restoring pH levels. To help maintain dental health, the advice (available on our website) is: 1) eat all your BEAR snacks at once rather than picking on bits over an hour or two. Even better, eat at mealtimes if you can. 2) have a drink of water or milk with a snack. If you choose milk, not only will you be doing bones a favour but it can also help neutralise pH levels in your mouth, cancelling out the effects of sugar. 3) clean your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. Here’s the info, along with a few more bits that might be useful: www.bearnibbles.co.uk/what-makes-us-different."

"Aren’t you just trying to pull yourself out from the competition?
Yes! But in a good way hopefully. We founded BEAR back in 2009 because it really frustrated us that there were no snacks available for families that were made from real fruit rather than concentrates. We’ve worked really hard with farmers to create products that don’t use concentrates, sulphites, require added sugar or any other nonsense. We feel it’s really important- not just to us, but to families trying to make informed decisions- that people understand how different foods are made. The childrens’ fruit snacking section of the shops isn’t as carefully regulated as other parts of the store- what we want to do here is ask for that to be addressed. That being said, if you’re still not sure, we’d love to have the chance to talk to you more- it’s a complicated matter, and isn’t always that easy to communicate everything in the short space on a pack. You can always call us too (on 0203 727 9000)."

MNHQ

MichelleMumsnet · 31/10/2015 12:29

Thanks for your input so far, everyone! BEAR has noticed that there were some questions and would therefore like to say the following:

MNHQ

MichelleMumsnet · 31/10/2015 12:30

Sorry, posted too soon Blush .... BEAR would like to say:
"Thanks for the questions.

"It’s not time, but temperature, that affects the nutrients within food. In the same way that steaming veg is better at retaining the original nutrients and vitamins than boiling within water, it’s much better for fruit to cook it gently than to blast it at high heat. To give another example of this- sundried foods are nice and healthy. They’ve been baked outside by nature at much lower temperatures than you’d probably cook them in the oven- they’re actually left out in the sun for days or weeks. The only reason we don’t do it this way is that you tend to have to use chemical preservatives on sundried products to keep animals away which we’d never do- baking them the way we do also gives us much better control on keeping things clean etc.

"On your question MrPorky, the simplest answer is that raw fruit and veg is always going to hang on to the most nutrients- so raw veg would have even more vitamins than cooked ones, but cooked ones are obviously still great for you. Vitamin C in particular is one of the ones that tends to be affected by heat- a lightly cooked carrot would have less vitamin c than a raw one. Interestingly though, things like iron, magnesium and potassium tend to be higher in baked fruits.

"Overall, baking at low temperatures as we do means that we can hang on to almost all of the goodness that you find in the fruit that we started with. As with any cooking at home that we do with fruit or veg, there will be a slight impact on some of the nutrients, but overall it’s still crammed full, high in fibre, and very barely processed."

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