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In blind taste tests of six popular brands of fruit cups, 28 kid testers gave their highest marks to the Walmart brand Great Value Mandarin Oranges in light syrup. Our young testers (age 5 to 16) said they liked the sweetness and orange flavor in these snacks.
Kids also said they liked Del Monte's Cherry Mixed Fruit in cherry-flavored light syrup and Del Monte's Mandarin Oranges in 100 percent fruit juice.
Kids were not fans, however, of Dole Cherry Mixed Fruit in 100 percent fruit juice. They said the combined fruits didn't taste good together or tasted weird, and that there were too many flavors.
"Based on those comments, parents might select fruit cups with a single fruit or a combo with fruits already familiar to the child," said Gayle Williams, deputy editor, Consumer Reports Health.
For kids who won't eat fresh fruit, fruit cups might be a good bet. Each quarter-cup serving of fruit cup had about 70 to 80 calories, 15 to 18 grams of sugar, and a gram or less of fiber. Compare that to a small apple, which has 80 calories, 15 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of fiber. But parents who really do want to get their kids to eat fresh fruit can try slices of orange, apple, pear, or cantaloupe.
To view the full fruit cup report see Which fruit cups will kids actually eat?
—Maggie Shader
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