Beyond raisin: dried fruits get edgy.The dried fruit industry wants your attention. Its goal: to dispel the notion that dried fruits are about as thrilling as, well, a bunch of raisins or prunes. "Three current efforts include 100-calorie packs, a shift to antioxidant marketing, as well as pomegranate and other component ingredients," Jane Asmar of the National Raisin Company told the industry publication Private Label Buyer last year. "In addition, products with exotic mixtures and new ingredients are being introduced," she noted. "Goji berries, pluots, tropicals ... It's all very exciting." Excitement aside, two facts are indisputable. Dried fruit is convenient. It's compact, portable, and it doesn't spoil or squish like some fresh fruit. And it's fruit after all, so it trumps chips or candy or other junk. But dried fruit has less vitamin C and, more importantly, less water than fresh fruit, which means more calories per bite. Here's the scoop on dried fruit. The information for this article was compiled by Melissa Pryputniewicz. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CRAISY CLAIMS? "We all know that cranberries are good for us," says the label of Ocean Spray Craisins 100 Calorie Packs, which are dried cranberries sweetened with sugar. "They're packed with powerful nutrients that cleanse and purify the body." Ocean Spray's Web site explains that cranberries' proanthocyanidins help keep certain E. coli bacteria from sticking to surfaces of the bladder, which reduces the odds of getting urinary tract infections (UTIs). True enough. But so far, human studies have tested only cranberry juice cocktail. (Other forms of cranberry--including dried--seem to work, at least in test tube studies, says Amy Howell of the Rutgers University Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research in Chatsworth, New Jersey. The center is partially funded by the cranberry industry.) More troubling: Ocean Spray's Web site implies that cranberries can help prevent heart disease, stomach ulcers, cavities, and dental plaque. Bottom line: Cranberries may help prevent urinary tract infections (though they're no help if you have an infection). But all that business about cleaning and purifying and heart disease and tooth decay is nothing but promises that may or may not hold up. In fact, dried fruit is likely to promote tooth decay because it sticks to the teeth. ANTIOXIDANTS, INC. "Research shows that eating fruits naturally high in antioxidants helps slow age-related health problems," says the package of Sunsweet Antioxidant Blend, which includes blueberries, cherries, cranberries, and plums. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Antioxidants boost your body's immune system, strengthen your heart & neutralize free radicals that break down your cells causing disease & disorders," say Sunsweet Mediterranean Apricots 70 Calorie Packs. Really? So far, antioxidants like vitamin E and beta-carotene have failed to lower the risk of heart disease or cancer. In fact, high doses have raised the risk. "We don't have a good handle on how antioxidants translate into health benefits," says Rutgers University berry expert Amy Howell. Sunsweet's Antioxidant Blend label--like those of Dole Raisins, Mariani Wild Blueberries, and other dried fruits--touts its "antioxidant score," or ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), which "measures the antioxidant units available to reduce harmful oxygen free radicals," as the label puts it. "We don't know enough to say that a food with 2,000 ORAC units is necessarily better than a food with 1,000 ORAC units," says Navindra Seeram, a natural products chemist at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy in Kingston. What's more, the ORAC assay pits a food against only one type of free radical, whereas the body creates many kinds. Some fruits may be more potent against the ORAC kind and less potent against others. Also, ORAC and similar tests "don't take into consideration how much the compounds in the fruit are absorbed and taken up into cells," explains food chemistry expert Rui Hai Liu of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. "If they don't become bioavailable to the cells, then the ORAC score doesn't mean anything." But the key question is more basic. "Even if a fruit does have high antioxidant activity, what the heck does that really mean?" asks Amy Howell. "Antioxidant activity may have absolutely no health relevance at all unless it's shown to do something specific." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] REAL CHOCOLATE "The ultimate antioxidant snack!" says the Sunsweet Chocolate PlumSweets package. "PlumSweets combine two of nature's best sources of antioxidants--dried plums and dark chocolate." Uh-oh. Any time companies blur the lines between fruit and candy, watch out. That's because when you coat fruit with chocolate, every ounce has less fruit and vitamins and more saturated fat and calories. So why aren't the calories in Sunsweet's chocolate-coated prunes (120) much higher than those in its regular prunes (100)? Simple...and tricky. The company uses a candy serving (30 grams) for the chocolate-coateds and a dried-fruit serving (40 grams) for the regulars. But at least Sunsweet coats its fruit with real dark chocolate. Far trickier are Sun-Maid Dark Chocolate Yogurt Raisins. The raisins are coated with sugar, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil. cocoa powder, whey powder. nonfat milk powder, and yogurt powder. It's really "dark chocolate-flavored yogurt coating," not dark chocolate. Mariani Chocolate Yogurt Raisins use the same ploy. "Indulge yourself while watching a movie!" suggests the label. How about "Turn dried fruit into a sugar-and-oil-coated snack with a third of a day's saturated fat"? HAPPY TRAILS Trail mix should be a blend of dried fruit and nuts. But companies gum it up by adding chocolate (or chocolate-flavored sugar-and-oil coating), fried banana chips (especially in "tropical mixes"), "yogurt" coating (really oil, sugar, and non-fat milk powder), and glazes (more sugars). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The latest addition: granola clusters (oats, oil, sugar, and rice), which are the main ingredient in Emerald Breakfast Blend Trail Mix. They also show up in Emerald's Tropical Blend and Berry Blend Trail Mixes and in Planters Daybreak Blends. Using them must save the companies a bundle. The worst snack mix line: Fisher Fusions. Its Ice Cream Sundae variety is mostly chocolate-coated peanuts, oil, sugar, sweetened fruit (pineapple, fried banana chips, strawberries), and marshmallows. That says it all. Solution: Look for our Best Bites, which have no more than 1.S grams of sat fat and no more than 80 mg of sodium per serving. They also have no added sugar (except in the cranberries, which are almost always sweetened). OUNCE FOR OUNCE "Ounce for ounce, bite for bite, better than fresh fruit!" shouts the package of Sunsweet Pitted Prunes (which the industry would like you to think of as Dried Plums). Better than any fresh fruit? Nope. Not even better than the one the package is crowing about. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "That's right, just one ounce of Sunsweet Prunes delivers more fiber than one ounce of apples," says the package. The graph on the back shows 1.98 grams of fiber in 1 oz. of prunes and 0.71 grams in 1 oz. of apple. That's almost three times more fiber for the prunes. But people don't eat an ounce of apple. A typical serving of five prunes (1 1/2 oz.) has 3 grams of fiber, while a typical (6 oz. medium) apple has 4 grains of fiber. And the heavier (water-laden) apple should make you feel more full than the prunes. Other Sunsweet packages claim that "just one ounce of Sunsweet Prunes delivers more antioxidants than one ounce of cultivated blueberries." But it's the same trick. If you compare typical servings of prunes and blueberries, the blueberries have about twice the antioxidants of the prunes. Shopping Tips * Calorie-control packs. They can help you stop before you eat too much. (Save money and packaging by refilling your own resealable bag at home.) Just read the labels carefully. Sun-Maid Raisins packages say "100 healthy calories or less per ounce!" on the front, but each single-serve box contains 1 1/2 ounces ... and 130 calories. * Added vitamins. Mariani Plums Plus have "More Vitamins & Antioxidants" because Mariani adds vitamins B-6, B-12, and E. Seneca Apple Chips and Stoneridge Orchards Green Apples have extra vitamin C. And Flavor Tree adds calcium to its Blueberries with Apple Juice. Those companies are just looking for a gimmick. If you want extra vitamins, take a supplement. * Sweetened, Made in Nature and Bare Fruit, as well as Trader Joe's and many health food stores, sell unsweetened versions of some dried fruits that are typically sweetened. Flavor Tree and Eden add apple juice concentrate instead of sugar, but (other than for cranberries) you don't need any sweetener. (You can ignore the smidgen of dextrose that's added to chopped dates to keep them from sticking together.) * Sugar numbers. Fruit contains naturally occurring sugar, so the sugar numbers on packages don't tell you much. It's better to look for sugar in the ingredients list. If you find any (and it doesn't appear in parentheses following cranberries), leave the package on the shelf. * Banana chips. Who needs dried fruit fried in coconut oil (or any oil, for that matter)? Some companies use a potato-chip serving (30 grams), so their sat fat looks lower than chips made by companies that use a dried-fruit serving (40 grams). It's not. * Sulfites. Some apricots, pineapple, and other dried fruits contain sulfites (usually sulfur dioxide) as a preservative. Unless you're sensitive to them, don't worry. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] RAISIN D'ETRE Best Bites ([check][check]) have no added sugar (except for sweetened cranberries), no more than 1.5 grams of saturated fat and 80 milligrams of sodium per serving, and contain no chocolate, chocolate-covered or yogurt-coated pieces, granola clusters, or (fried) banana or apple chips. The chart gives numbers for sweetened dried fruits if they typically come that way. Unsweetened versions (which would be Best Bites) may be available at Trader Joe's and health food stores. For each fruit we've listed a typical brand. Numbers for other brands or bulk-bin fruit shouldn't vary much. Dried fruits are listed alphabetically. Trail mixes, fried fruit chips, and coated dried fruits are ranked from least to most saturated fat, then sodium, then calories.
Dried Fruit (1 1/2 oz., about
1/4 cup, unsweetened unless Potassium
noted) Calories (% DV)
Sun-Maid Apples, sweetened 120 5
[check][check] Sun-Maid Apricots, California
or Mediterranean 100 9
Sunsweet Blueberries,
sweetened 140 3
Sunsweet Cherries, sweetened 100 2
[check][check] Ocean Spray Craisins
(dried cranberries),
sweetened (1/3 cup) 130 0
[check][check] Sunsweet Dates, chopped 120 6
[check][check] Sun-Maid Figs, Calimyrna
or Mission 120 5
Sunsweet Mango, sweetened
(6 pieces) 130 5
Sunsweet Pineapple, sweetened
(1/3 cup) 130 2
[check][check] Sunsweet Prunes (5 prunes) 100 6
[check][check] Sun-Maid Raisins, regular
or Golden 130 7
Mariani Strawberries,
sweetened 130 2
Mixed Dried Fruit (1 1/2 oz.,
about 1/4 cup)
Back to Nature Sonoma Berry
Blend 130 n/a
Mariani Berries'N Cherries 130 2
Mariani Tropical Medley 130 2
[check][check] Sun-Maid Mixed Fruit 100 7
Sun-Maid Tropical Trio 140 0
Sunsweet Antioxidant Blend 130 3
Sunsweet Berry Blend 120 2
[check][check] Sunsweet Orchard Mix 100 3
Sunsweet Tropical Mix 150 1
Welch's Berry Medley 140 3
[check][check] Whole Foods 365 Organic 110 6
Delight Mix
Apple Chips, Banana Chips, &
Coated Dried Fruit (1 oz., Potassium
1/4 cup, unless noted) Calories (% DV)
Seneca Apple Chips (12 chips) 140 0
Sun-Maid Vanilla Yogurt
Cranberries 120 1
Sunsweet Chocolate PlumSweets
(14 pieces) 120 1
Sun-Maid Yogurt Raisins (1) 120 1
Nestle Cranberry Raisinets
(1 1/2 oz.) 200 1
Mariani Yogurt Raisins (1) 150 2
Whole Foods 365 Organic
Banana Chips (1 1/2 oz.,
2/3 cup) 220 1
Trail Mixes Potassium
(1 oz., about 1/4 cup) Calories (% DV)
[check][check] Whole Foods 365 Organic 130 4
Hullabaloo Mix
Back to Nature Blend--
Martha's Vineyard,
Monterey, Nantucket,
or Red Rocky 130 3
Planters Daybreak Blends
Whole Foods 365 Organic Dried 150 3
Cranberries & Pecans 130 1
[check][check] Whole Foods 365 Cranberry
Trail Mix 130 4
Trader Joe's Anti-OXidant Nut
& Berry Mix 140 3
[check][check] Back to Nature Harvest Blend 150 5
Eden Organic Wild Berry Mix 150 5
Planters Berry Nut &
Chocolate Trail Mix 120 2
[check][check] Trader Joe's Trek Mix--Oh My!
Omega or Simply Almonds,
Cashews St Cranberries 150 4
[check][check] Planters Harvest Almond
Orchard Blend 160 4
[check][check] Fisher Energy Blend 140 3
[check][check] Fisher Fusions Energy Blend 140 3
Trader Joe's ABC Trek Mix 140 4
Sahale Snack Glazed Nuts 160 5
Back to Nature Bar Harbor
Blend 130 2
[check][check] Trader Joe's Go Raw Trek Mix 150 5
Trader Joe's Trek Mix--Cashew
Macadamia Delight or Simply
the Bests 150 4
[check][check] Himalania Raw Vitality Goji
Berry Trail Mix 160 5
Eden Selected All Mixed Up
Too 140 5
[check][check] Planters Mixed Nuts & Raisins
Trail Mix 150 5
[check][check] Planters Nuts, Seeds &
Raisins Trail Mix 160 6
Sahale Snacks Nut Blends (1) 140 3
Trader Joe's Trek Mix--
Macadamias mix Gingerly
with Cranberries & Almonds
or Salty, Sweet & Nutty 150 4
[check][check] Nut Harvest Nut & Fruit Mix 150 4
[check][check] Trader Joe's So Fruity--So
Nutty Trek Mix 200 5
Emerald Trail Mix (1) 120 2
Planters Sweet & Nutty Trail
Mix 150 4
Snacktrition Fruit & Nut Mix 150 2
Whole Foods 365 Organic
Raisin Chocolate & Nut Mix 140 4
Planters Harvest Dark
Chocolate Forest Blend 170 4
Fisher Trail Mix 140 4
Trader Joe's Perk Up Your
Trek Mix 160 4
Ocean Spray Craisins Trail
Mix 140 3
Eden Selected All Mixed Up 160 8
Planters Fruit & Nut Trail
Mix 140 3
Planters Nut St Chocolate
Trail Mix 160 4
Back to Nature Pacific
Heights Blend 160 4
Planters Trail Mix--Golden
Nut Crunch or Honey Nut
& Caramel (1) 160 5
Trader Joe's Tempting Trail
Mix 160 5
Trader Joe's Sweet, Savory &
Tart Trek Mix 150 4
Whole Foods 365 Organic
Chocolate Banana & Nut Mix 150 4
Fisher Fusions, except Energy
Blends 180 3
Whole Foods 365 Organic
Tropical Mix 140 2
Dried Fruit (1 1/2 oz., about
1/4 cup, unsweetened unless Vitamin A Fiber
noted) (% DV) (g)
Sun-Maid Apples, sweetened 0 2
[check][check] Sun-Maid Apricots, California
or Mediterranean 8 3
Sunsweet Blueberries,
sweetened 2 3
Sunsweet Cherries, sweetened 15 2
[check][check] Ocean Spray Craisins
(dried cranberries),
sweetened (1/3 cup) 0 3
[check][check] Sunsweet Dates, chopped 0 3
[check][check] Sun-Maid Figs, Calimyrna
or Mission 0 5
Sunsweet Mango, sweetened
(6 pieces) 20 2
Sunsweet Pineapple, sweetened
(1/3 cup) 0 2
[check][check] Sunsweet Prunes (5 prunes) 8 3
[check][check] Sun-Maid Raisins, regular
or Golden 0 2
Mariani Strawberries,
sweetened 0 1
Mixed Dried Fruit (1 1/2 oz.,
about 1/4 cup)
Back to Nature Sonoma Berry
Blend 0 2
Mariani Berries'N Cherries 10 2
Mariani Tropical Medley 15 3
[check][check] Sun-Maid Mixed Fruit 6 3
Sun-Maid Tropical Trio 0 1
Sunsweet Antioxidant Blend 6 1
Sunsweet Berry Blend 8 3
[check][check] Sunsweet Orchard Mix 4 3
Sunsweet Tropical Mix 4 2
Welch's Berry Medley 2 1
[check][check] Whole Foods 365 Organic 6 2
Delight Mix
Apple Chips, Banana Chips, &
Coated Dried Fruit (1 oz., Vitamin A Fiber
1/4 cup, unless noted) (% DV) (g)
Seneca Apple Chips (12 chips) 1 20
Sun-Maid Vanilla Yogurt
Cranberries 3 10
Sunsweet Chocolate PlumSweets
(14 pieces) 3 10
Sun-Maid Yogurt Raisins (1) 3.5 20
Nestle Cranberry Raisinets
(1 1/2 oz.) 5 10
Mariani Yogurt Raisins (1) 6.5 30
Whole Foods 365 Organic
Banana Chips (1 1/2 oz.,
2/3 cup) 12 0
Trail Mixes Vitamin A Fiber
(1 oz., about 1/4 cup) (% DV) (g)
[check][check] Whole Foods 365 Organic 0.5 0
Hullabaloo Mix
Back to Nature Blend--
Martha's Vineyard,
Monterey, Nantucket,
or Red Rocky 0.5 10
Planters Daybreak Blends
Whole Foods 365 Organic Dried 0.5 50
Cranberries & Pecans 0.5 60
[check][check] Whole Foods 365 Cranberry
Trail Mix 1 0
Trader Joe's Anti-OXidant Nut
& Berry Mix 1 0
[check][check] Back to Nature Harvest Blend 1 10
Eden Organic Wild Berry Mix 1 10
Planters Berry Nut &
Chocolate Trail Mix 1 20
[check][check] Trader Joe's Trek Mix--Oh My!
Omega or Simply Almonds,
Cashews St Cranberries 1 20
[check][check] Planters Harvest Almond
Orchard Blend 1 30
[check][check] Fisher Energy Blend 1 40
[check][check] Fisher Fusions Energy Blend 1 40
Trader Joe's ABC Trek Mix 1 60
Sahale Snack Glazed Nuts 1 120
Back to Nature Bar Harbor
Blend 1.5 0
[check][check] Trader Joe's Go Raw Trek Mix 1.5 10
Trader Joe's Trek Mix--Cashew
Macadamia Delight or Simply
the Bests 1.5 10
[check][check] Himalania Raw Vitality Goji
Berry Trail Mix 1.5 10
Eden Selected All Mixed Up
Too 1.5 20
[check][check] Planters Mixed Nuts & Raisins
Trail Mix 1.5 20
[check][check] Planters Nuts, Seeds &
Raisins Trail Mix 1.5 20
Sahale Snacks Nut Blends (1) 1.5 60
Trader Joe's Trek Mix--
Macadamias mix Gingerly
with Cranberries & Almonds
or Salty, Sweet & Nutty 1.5 70
[check][check] Nut Harvest Nut & Fruit Mix 1.5 80
[check][check] Trader Joe's So Fruity--So
Nutty Trek Mix 1.5 80
Emerald Trail Mix (1) 2 40
Planters Sweet & Nutty Trail
Mix 2 40
Snacktrition Fruit & Nut Mix 2 40
Whole Foods 365 Organic
Raisin Chocolate & Nut Mix 2 50
Planters Harvest Dark
Chocolate Forest Blend 2 50
Fisher Trail Mix 2 60
Trader Joe's Perk Up Your
Trek Mix 2 60
Ocean Spray Craisins Trail
Mix 2 70
Eden Selected All Mixed Up 2 70
Planters Fruit & Nut Trail
Mix 2.5 20
Planters Nut St Chocolate
Trail Mix 2.5 20
Back to Nature Pacific
Heights Blend 2.5 40
Planters Trail Mix--Golden
Nut Crunch or Honey Nut
& Caramel (1) 2.5 120
Trader Joe's Tempting Trail
Mix 3 20
Trader Joe's Sweet, Savory &
Tart Trek Mix 3 50
Whole Foods 365 Organic
Chocolate Banana & Nut Mix 3.5 60
Fisher Fusions, except Energy
Blends 3.5 60
Whole Foods 365 Organic
Tropical Mix 5 20
[check][check] Best Bite. (1) Average. n/a Number not available.
Daily Limits (for a 2,000-calorie diet): Saturated Fat: 20 grams.
Sodium: 1,500 milligrams.
DVs (Daily Values): Potassium: 4,700 mg. Vitamin A: 5,000 IU.
Fiber. 25 grams.
Source: company information. The use of information from this article
for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited without written
permission from CSPI.
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