Summer is a great time for drinking a refreshing fruit punch. This one, CapriSun “All Natural” Tropical Punch, looks particularly good because the front of the package shows pineapple, orange, bananas and strawberries. The back of the box shows additional fruit: apple, pear, raspberry, cherries, grapes, and lemon. With all that fruit and being “all natural”, this drink is bound to be both nutritious and delicious.
 *MOUSE PRINT: Surprisingly, the ingredients listing indicates that this punch only contains two fruit juices. “INGREDIENTS: water, high fructose corn syrup, pear and pineapple juice concentrates, citric acid, natural flavor.”
The label also reveals that the product only contains “10% fruit juice” and is a “tropical punch flavored juice drink blend.” (It is never a good sign when a product is labeled “juice drink.” And with all that natural water and natural sugar syrup there is hardly room for juice anyway.)
So, where’s the banana, orange, strawberry, raspberry, grape, cherry, apple and lemon that are pictured on the box? Kraft, the maker of this product, responded to an email inquiring as to what specific fruit extracts were contained in this product under the term “natural flavor” by saying the “fruits contained in Tropical Punch … orange, strawberry, banana, pear and pineapple.”Â
So maybe the company just forgot to include the raspberry, grape, cherry, apple and lemon pictured on the box?
[Note: the packaging shown is not the current version of this product.]
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I would have never expected this or any “juice” box to be anything other than flavored sugared water. Almost everything labeled for kids is loaded with sugar and other than orange and lemon juice in our grocery store, real fruit juice is almost non existent.
I recently gave up on the “natural flavor” labeling. I tried to search grocery store isles looking for products that were labeled natural but didn’t include “natural flavors” in the ingredients. If the natural flavors are so natural then why are they all lumped into one ambiguous category instead of listed individually?
It’s very unfortunate that food manufacturing has come to this and worse.
This is why I drink water, or coffee and tea that I brew myself. I’ll never drink something out of a box, can or bottle.
Does “punch” ever refer to anything that’s mostly juice? In my experience, 10% juice is what I would expect from something calling itself “punch”. Maybe raspberry, grape, cherry, apple and lemon (especially lemon) are the source of their citric acid. Although these days it’s probably a chemical process, maybe the “all natural” refers to that too.
Thanks Edgar. This is good info. Have you ever thought of starting a web site/blog about products you would endorse? Each time you expose one of these fraudsters I stop buying their product. There’s just not much left anymore that I can purchase anymore.
Edgar replies: Toddy, this is just my way to get people to spend less.
Well posters I only purchase fruit juice that says 100% fruit juice on the label. I do not know how accurate that is, but at least I feel better purchasing it even if it is not 100% fruit juice.
Richard, buying 100% fruit juice is certainly better than buying fruit drinks but be cautious, even 100% fruit juice can contain added sugars, fats, and added flavors.
What I’d like to know is what “100% Juice with added ingredients” means (The latter part usually in much smaller print). It’s like those former dollar stores that proclaim “everything $1 and up”. Wow, thanks, I was afraid something might cost less than a dollar.
This reminds me of the “Mott’s for Tots” juice a little while ago. They ran feel-good commercials and everything, and what was this special less-sugar juice for young’uns? Watered-down normal juice. And they charged the same for this watered-down juice. And these Capri Sun pouches are usually pretty tasty, but they are fudging around with the consumer…the imagery on the pouch alone is rather deceptive. But, I’ve gotta call you out on one thing, Edgar. You’re knocking a company for a packaging revision that they dropped some time ago, from my recollection. That’s a little vindictive if you ask me….but that’s just me finding fault.
Boris: From what I know, “100% juice w/ added ingredients” is basically a drink that started out as 100% juice, but they later threw other stuff in, like preservatives, sweeteners, vitamins, flavorings, and other things.
My kids have juice that say 100% juice only..and even with those juice .I dilute them half water half juice .. I have never been a fan of juice like pdturcos at all and don’t buy them but I do love real org, grape or apple when it 100% unpasturized .I don’t even like the mixed fruit like org/banana/strawberry . I feel in moderation true fruit juice can be enjoyed and not contribute to unwanted caloried in kids when offered in the correct serving and not in a sippy cup or given multi cups all day .cause even the 100% juice can pack on calories and cause tooth decay, when over done . I love this post for breaking down the labels and really showing what 10% juice ect looks like I’m going to share this.