BC-TIDBITS:MS – food (350 words)
Tidbits: Del Monte SuperFruit
By Al Sicherman
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
(MCT)
Until Mr. Tidbit looked for Del Monte’s new SuperFruit tubs in the refrigerator case in the produce department, he hadn’t noticed that Del Monte was already there, with something like 10 varieties of Fruit Naturals – 8-ounce tubs of diced fruits and fruit mixtures in sweetened water.
The new 8-ounce SuperFruit tubs come in three varieties, which Mr. Tidbit suggests are labeled oddly. Someone else might say they are labeled misleadingly, giving the impression that named fruits are present when they are only part of the juice. The front labels read:
“Mixed fruit chunks.” The two lines of type below that, in a slightly smaller size, say “mango” and “passion fruit,” and the large illustration shows halves of mango and passion fruit. Then we read “Antioxidant rich in vitamin C” and finally, in much smaller type, we learn: “Peach, pear and pineapple chunks in a blend of 100 percent juices from concentrate.” The back label tells us that the reconstituted juices are, in decreasing order: white grape, mango, pear and passion fruit.
“Pear chunks.” The two lines of type below that, in a slightly smaller size, say “acai” and “blackberry,” the large illustration shows bunches of acai and blackberries (the tub’s contents are dark purple). Then we read “Antioxidant rich in vitamin C” and finally, in much smaller type, we learn: “Pear chunks in a blend of 100 percent juices from concentrate.” The back label tells us that the reconstituted juices are, in decreasing order: grape, acai, pear and blackberry.
“Peach chunks.” The same deal: The label next mentions pomegranate and orange, and the illustration is halves of pomegranate and orange, but this is peach chunks in a blend of reconstituted grape, pomegranate, pear and orange juices.
For 8 ounces the prices at one store are: SuperFruit, $2.69; Fruit Naturals, $1.99; from Del Monte’s shelf-stable four-packs of 4-ounce diced-fruit cups, $1.47, and from Del Monte’s 15-ounce cans of fruit, $1.03.
—
(c) 2009, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Visit the Star Tribune Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.startribune.com
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

AP-NY-05-18-09 0858EDT

Copy the Story Link