Shoutout to the guy at the grocery store who pointed out the 'made with real fruit' scam

Last week in Phoenix, I grabbed a box of strawberry toaster pastries. The front label said 'made with real fruit' in big letters. A man next to me said, 'Check the ingredients, it's mostly pear and apple puree with strawberry flavor.' He was right. The strawberry content was listed after three other fruit concentrates. I used to think that phrase meant something. What other front-of-box claims are basically worthless?

3 comments

3 Comments

perez.derek19d ago

That's a classic one. "Made with whole grain" gets me too, because it can be like 1% whole grain flour mixed with refined white flour. Always gotta flip the box over.

mark36119d ago

Yeah, the "made with" trick is why I always check the ingredients list first.

alice33614d ago

Totally, the "made with" thing is everywhere. Like "made with real fruit" on a snack that's just a tiny bit of fruit juice concentrate. Or "made with olive oil" but it's the last ingredient after three cheaper oils. They bank on people not looking past the big words on the front.