Globs of sugar and wax

Labeling the globs of sugar and wax that you market to children as “organic” doesn’t make them not globs of sugar and wax. The first four ingredients, which make up the greater part of the product, are, as a matter of fact, sugar. (Sugar syrup from cassava, aka tapioca; cane sugar; tapioca solids; grape juice concentrate.)

“No icky additives” is patronizing, especially considering that one of the ingredients listed is the ominously vague “Natural Flavors.” You can hide anything under the term “Natural Flavors.” Check this out. This is the actual FDA literature that defines a “natural flavor”:

The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof

I would call most of those additives “icky”, if that were a word I used, which I don’t. But then again, I don’t work for a food company that sells sugar bombs with a feel-good earth attitude.

Can you blame them for taking this angle? These four-dollar “organic” packets of sugar are one of the best-selling snack food items on Amazon. (By comparison, 115 grams of table sugar costs $0.44.)