Tropicana FruitWise Fruit Strip and Tropicana FruitWise Bar
Cost: $1.50-$1.89 for bar; 50-60 cents for strip
Where: In produce departments of area grocery stores
The claim : A quick, handy snack that delivers at least one of the United States Department of Agriculture's recommended serving of fruit. The .67-ounce fruit strip easily stashes in a gym bag or glove box and can be eaten on the go like an energy or breakfast bar.
The strawberry-flavored fruit strip was a little more sticky than I would have preferred. Fruitwise boasts it's made with REAL fruit and juice. REAL, yes; it just isn't the fruit you might think. If you look at the nutritional label, you'll find apple puree and apple juice concentrate listed as the two main ingredients.
Fruitwise is a better health option than a package of licorice or fruit rollups, but it doesn't measure up to the real fruit. If you have a hankering for strawberries, this isn't going to satisfy your tastebuds. Real strawberries also have more potassium and half the sugar.
At a price of 50 to 60 cents, you can toss it in your purse, and it's there when you need it.
The look of the orange citrus-flavored fruit bar with dark shades of brownish orangewas off-putting. The flavor was pleasant, although a tad overpowering. The concentrated flavor is too strong, and despite having 32 grams of sugar, it's almost not sweet enough for kids.
I could see having this in a pinch as a snack, but never would I consider this as a replacement for fruit.
-- Rebecca Killian
Getting the wrapper off the flimsy, sticky fruit strip made it not as quick and handy a snack. The stickiness could make it messy in the car. The wildberry flavor is good -- chewy and fruity with a nice mix of sweet and slightly sour.
The 1.4 ounce FruitWide strawberry-flavored bar has a nice chewy consistency and pleasantly tart strawberry tang. It opens more easily than the fruit strip, and because it's more solid, it's easier to avoid getting sticky fingers.
Both have zero fat calories, a plus. But their claim of "99 percent fruit and fruit juice" raises a red flag. The ingredients include various forms of fruit-juice concentrate. Fruit juice from concentrate frequently contains added sugar and fewer nutrients than beverages labeled "100 percent fruit juice" or "fruit drink." As such, it's no substitute for eating a piece of fruit.
-- William Loeffler
It almost doesn't matter what the product is: If it has cherry flavor in it, it's a winner to me.
Sure enough, the cherry-flavored fruit strip and cherry berry fruit bar are delicious, and although they are as sweet as candy, the fact that they are made from 99 percent fruit and juice eliminates the guilt. That's still a lot of sugar -- but hey, it's the natural kind, and it's loaded with Vitamin C!
Both products taste like solid, chewy juice. Yum.
-- Kellie B. Gormly
