Many of us have tossed those colorful little packages of squishy fruit snacks into our kids’ lunch boxes, almost as an afterthought. But have you ever stopped to think about what they actually are? Do fruit snacks really count as fruit, a “snack” or are they really just dessert?

Fruit snacks do contain fruit juice or fruit puree – so you might think they are nearly equivalent to an apple or an orange in a lunchbox. But, with sugary corn syrup often listed as the first ingredient, do they actually count as dessert?

Read on for what dietitians think – and learn about the one time dietitians feed fruit snacks to their kids – or even eat them themselves.

What’s the difference between fruit snacks and gummy candy?

First, it’s helpful to compare the list of ingredients in those fruit-shaped fruit snacks and in gummy candy.

Fruit snacks contain these ingredients: fruit puree, corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, modified tapioca starch, gelatin, concord grape juice from concentrate, pectin, citric acid, lactic acid, natural and artificial flavors, vitamin C (citric acid), vitamin E, vitamin A, sodium citrate, coconut oil, carnauba wax, annatto, turmeric, Red 40 and Blue 1.

And the list of ingredients for gummy candy looks something like this: corn syrup, sugar, gelatin, dextrose, vitamin C (citric acid), natural and artificial flavors, palm oil, palm kernel oil, carnauba wax, white beeswax, yellow beeswax, Yellow 5, Red 40 and Blue 1.

Both share many ingredients including corn syrup, sugar, citric acid, artificial flavors, carnauba wax and food dyes.

But gummy candy does not contain fruit puree and fruit juice, so does that mean fruit snacks can be considered a serving of fruit?

Do fruit snacks count as a serving of fruit?

Nope. Fruit snacks do not contain fiber or the hundreds of beneficial nutrients found in plants.

Children (ages four to eight years) should get around 25 grams of fiber daily. Fiber helps keep kids regular. Fiber also aids in making them stay fuller longer – to avoid being ravenously hungry after school. Fruit snacks contain zero fiber.

Most kids enjoy the sweet taste of fruit; substituting fruit snacks for a fruit is a lost opportunity to get more fiber. So feed kids fruit: grapes, kiwi, apples, pears, oranges, bananas, raisins, canned peaches, frozen blueberries, any fruit. They all have fiber – and oranges, kiwi, pears and blueberries, they have a lot of fiber.

Another benefit of real fruit is all the vitamins, minerals and potent antioxidants they contain. Some fruit snacks do contain a small amount of vitamins C, E and A – but that’s it. Whole fruits are packed with a variety of antioxidants including polyphenols and anthocyanins, along with a multitude of vitamins and minerals, like magnesium and potassium.

The amount of vitamin C found in fruit snacks is about the same as what is found in three little sections of an orange. Kids generally already get plenty of vitamin C from foods like potatoes (likely in the form of French fries!) but they don’t often get enough of many of the other nutrients found in real fruit.

Do fruit snacks count as dessert?

Yes. The second ingredient listed in fruit snacks is typically corn syrup, a form of sugar. And every other ingredient is either a sugar, starch or additive. These added sugars should give us a big clue that fruit snacks are a dessert. As a dietitian, I’m big fan of dessert – and even of eating dessert first! But I’m usually not a fan of dessert at every meal of the day plus at snack time.

Fruit snacks are also an ultra-processed food. And despite the fact that they contain fruit puree or fruit juice, they are not whole foods. In a recent meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, researchers recommended that the consumption of fruit juice should be limited to avoid excess calories and weight gain.

Are fruit snacks a healthy snack?

Fruit snacks are not the best snack to serve when kids are hungry and need to refuel. A healthful snack should contain two food groups, such as a fruit and a protein like an apple and peanut butter, or a vegetable and dairy like cherry tomatoes and cheese.

Feeding a package or two of fruit snacks alone won’t fill a child’s belly. Instead, since it’s a form of pure carbohydrates, it will give them a quick burst of energy by sending their blood sugar skyrocketing. But then their blood sugar will crash, leaving them likely more hungry than before.

But fruit snacks can be helpful as one sort of snack: for young, or even adult, athletes. Fruit snacks are a perfectly portioned package of about 20 grams of carbohydrates. So they can be helpful if there isn’t time to consume high-water-content real fruit (grapes, strawberries, watermelon, oranges) before a sporting event like a swim race, cross country run or a track sprint. Also, fruit snacks do not contain fat or protein that could slow digestion before a race, or fiber that may cause gut issues during a run.

Youth sports dietitian and mom Sarah Pflugradt, PhD, RD of SarahPflugradt.com suggests the following fueling strategies for middle school or high school athletes:

• Eat one pack of fruit snacks about 30 to 45 minutes before the event (potentially two packs for teens).
• Drink four to eight ounces of water (not a sports drink) with the fruit snack for proper hydration.
• Never try a new snack on race day. If it hasn’t first been tested in practice, it could lead to unforeseen tummy troubles. But as a rule, on most days, the pre-practice snack should be real fruit.
• Try a box of raisins instead. A box of raisins contains the perfect amount of pre-race carbs with 22 grams of carbohydrates (compared to the 19 grams of carbs in fruit snacks). Plus raisins have antioxidants to help tamp down on muscle inflammation and soreness. And obviously, raisins are real fruit!

Pflugradt also suggests trying sour fruity raisins. “They are golden raisins with a sour kick. My kids love them and they are a great alternative to sour gummy candies, or any gummy candy for that matter.”

Bottom Line: Fruit snacks don’t count as a serving of fruit. They are a gummy dessert. They can also be a special occasion snack for middle or high school athletes on race days when a super-quick fueling of carbohydrates is needed. But kids younger than middle school should get used to eating real fruit for all snacking occasions.

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