Newtons Minis: Highly processed cookies
Here is a box of Newtons Minis, “fruit chewy cookies made with real fruit and baked with 100% whole grain” by Kraft Foods. Doesn’t this sound nice? But let’s take a look at the ingredients to see what else comes with the health promoters.
DyeDiet Doesn’t Buy It!
Newtons Mini Strawberry: Risk, Nutrition and Dye Content
Yes, the good news is that the cookies come with real strawberry in a form of puree. But with a number of strange chemical food additives (red segments), the nutritional value of the cookies suffers. Although chemical risk you take with these strawberry cookies is relatively low, DDFI = 29/45 ~ 0.6, their nutritional value: DDNF = 45/51 = 0.9 will leave your body dissatisfied. See below what else you will consume:
- Artificial color Red 40 may trigger asthma, allergy and ADHD in sensitive people
- Caramel color. The Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban ammonia-sulfite caramel color because of carcinogenic side-components. As the result, Coca-Cola has changed its technology. “The company did make the decision to ask its caramel suppliers to make the necessary manufacturing process modifications to meet the requirement of the State of California,” a Coca-Cola official stated
- Sodium benzoate is a food preservative with a history of adverse health effects. This is the chemical they add to “preserve freshness.”
- Natural and artificial flavor. Honestly, I was able to smell the artificial flavor when open a bag of the cookies: it was a parody on strawberry
- Partly Hydrogenated cottonseed oil is a source of unnatural trans fat which may increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
On the positive side, with every serving (38 g, 9 pieces) you will get only 4 teaspoons of HFCS and sugar and a charge of Vitamins B group and Vitamin A. It’s hard to say, however, if we really need this extra loading of vitamins.
Bottom line. While Newtons Minis Strawberry are made with real fruit and whole grain, the presence of starches and partly hydrogenated oil in their stuffing suggests that perhaps strawberry puree is not a main ingredient by weight. Other chemical food additives make the cookies a health risky choice for regular consumption. Newtons Mini Figs (stuffed with figs) do not contain Red 40 and therefore are a little less risky. Previously recommended Newtons Fruit Thins are safer and healthier choice!
Category: Baked goods, Cookies, Food Dyes Exposure
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Shouldn’t hydrogenated oil be red instead of yellow? It has trans fat which is not good for health.
You are about right, it is not good, but it is still oil and can be utilized by a living cell. Based on this approach it should be in the yellow category. Only what cannot be utilized is in red. “Good’ and “bad” approach cannot be used with this purpose: any best “good” food can be turned “bad” simply by overeating. Sugar is one of the brightest examples. After all amounts of trans fat are only a few percent. We should not eat that products regularly; avoidance, of course, is even better.