Fruit Roll-Ups facts for kids

A Fruit Roll-Up

Fruit Roll-Ups are a popular snack that first appeared in stores in America in 1983. They are flat, fruit-flavored sheets, often made with corn syrup. Each sheet is rolled up and placed on a special backing to stop it from sticking to itself.

These snacks are made by General Mills and sold under the Betty Crocker brand in the U.S.. In Australia, they are sold under the Uncle Tobys brand. Other companies, like Kellanova, also make similar products. For example, Kellogg's sells them as Fruit Winders in the UK.

How Fruit Roll-Ups Are Advertised

In the early 1980s, Fruit Roll-Ups were advertised a lot on TV in America. Many ads used the catchy phrase: "Fruit Corners Fruit Roll-Ups: Real fruit and fun, rolled up in one." Later ads showed kids having fun in a "Fruit Roll-Up Fun Factory."

The main idea behind the ads was to show parents that these fun snacks also had real fruit. However, some studies found that mothers were surprised by how sweet Fruit Roll-Ups were. They also noticed how little real fruit was actually in them. For example, the strawberry flavor does not contain strawberries. The only fruit ingredient is concentrated pear juice.

The History of Fruit Roll-Ups

General Mills started researching this product way back in 1975.

Before Fruit Roll-Ups, there were products like Joray Fruit Rolls from New York. These were round, fruit leather snacks. Fruit Roll-Ups have a more chewy texture than these older, natural rolls. While they were first round, they are now shaped like a parallelogram.

Over the years, Fruit Roll-Ups have offered different fun versions. Some had shapes you could punch out. Others even came with temporary tattoos for your tongue.

Betty Crocker sells Fruit Roll-Ups in boxes with just one flavor. They also offer variety packs with different flavors.

What's Inside Fruit Roll-Ups

The main ingredient in Fruit Roll-Ups is sugar. They actually contain five different kinds of sugar! These include sugar from pear juice concentrate, corn syrup, dried corn syrup, regular sugar, and a bit of dextrose. They also have small amounts of other ingredients. These include oils, acids like citric acid, and artificial colors.

Lawsuit About Health Claims

In 2011, a group called the Center for Science in the Public Interest took legal action against General Mills. They said that the packaging and ads for Fruit Roll-Ups were misleading. The group felt the product was shown as a healthy, fruit-filled snack. But it had about the same nutrition as gummy bear candies.

General Mills and the group settled the case outside of court. General Mills agreed to make some changes. They would not put pictures of fruits on the labels unless that fruit was actually in the Fruit Roll-Up flavor. They also agreed to either stop saying the product is "made with real fruit," or to clearly state how much real fruit is in it. These changes happened in 2014.

More recently, a video became very popular online. Someone showed themselves wrapping a spoonful of ice cream in a Fruit Roll-Up. Then they ate it with a fun crunch! This started a trend that went viral, especially in Israel. It even caused a shortage of Fruit Roll-Ups there!

See also

• Fruit by the Foot
• Black sesame roll
• Fruit Gushers
• Sunkist Fun Fruits