I was surprised by FoodNavigator-USA’s story about “SmartCandy.”
It looked to me as though the name and contents of this candy could be violating the FDA’s “jelly bean” rule?
The “jelly bean” rule refers to FDA’s fortification policy,* which aims to discourage food and beverage makers from adding vitamins to “foods of minimal nutritional value” (a.
k.a. junk foods) so they can be marketed as healthy.The policy is explicit. The FDA does not consider it appropriate to add nutrients to candies and beverages.
I can’t find a Nutrition Facts label for this product online, and it doesn’t seem to be available in stores near me, so can only go by what the article says:
Smartcandy is formulated with a blend of Vitamin A for eye health, three B vitamins to support converting sugar and carbohydrates into sustained energy, and vitamin C for immunity. The trans fat-, high-fructose corn syrup-free candies come in four varieties: sweet and sour gummies; and Froot, a proprietary snack with a candy shell and a layer of yogurt encasing a strawberry or orange center.
If SmartCandy can get away with this, won’t Coca-Cola and Pepsi be next?
Candy is candy and has an place in kids’s diets—occasionally. But a health food that makes kids do better in school? I’d like to see the evidence for that.
FDA: take a look please.
Readers: If you can find a Nutrition Facts label for SmartCandy, please send.
*Thanks to Michael Jacobson for forwarding.