NOTE: I wrote the following post, then decided to email Mott’s about their “natural flavors”in their Healthy Harvest Blueberry Applesauce. The email I received did NOTHING to allay my concerns, and I was told that their ingredients are FDA compliant and “Any ingredient that is not listed on the label is considered proprietary to our Company.” Personally, that raises HUGE red flags for me.  I understand that companies want to keep the proportions of their ingredients private (like KFC and their secret chicken recipe), but I think that in this day and age, all companies should be willing to be forthright with their customers. I mean, there are businesses that are selling Bacon and Cheese flavored crickets that are FDA compliant, but I sure as heck don’t plan on munching on those as snacks .  Based on their email response, I am rescinding my recommendation in this post and will no longer be buying any Mott’s products, and I hope everyone does the same until Mott’s tells us what they define as “natural”.

Here’s my original post:

Normally, I shy away from anything marked “Naturally Flavored”.  In my mind, that’s a marketing ploy and most products don’t make it clear what they consider “natural flavor”. I figure that could mean anything from organic spices to a dead bat, so I usually avoid foods with that description. However, I recently picked up a six pack of “Mott’s Healthy Harvest Blueberry Delight“. The packaging also says it has “All Natural Ingredients & Vitamin C”. I paid $2.79 for six cups, or .12 cents an ounce.

The first thing I noticed was that Mott’s used NO artificial sweeteners! What a relief to find something low-calorie (50 per cup) that does not contain splenda, aspartame, or any of those toxic sweeteners. The ingredients listed on the label are: Apples, Water, Apple Juice Concentrate, Vegetable Juice for color, Blueberry Puree, Natural Flavors and Vitamin C.  Once again, I have to wonder what they consider “Natural Flavors” and would probably be more enthusiastic about their product if they could assure me that they’re not using chicken beaks or pigs’ hooves as “natural” flavor enhancers. I also noticed that there’s more vegetable juice than blueberries, so I’m assuming that there’s not enough blueberries in this applesauce to obtain the usual the health effects associated with blueberries.  That’s okay with me because frankly, I was looking for something more along the lines of a treat, something that tasted good (like ice cream) but without all the fat and calories.

I have to say that I was NOT disappointed in the taste and was very pleasantly surprised at the amount of flavor it had. Then again,  I don’t know if that flavor came from the blueberries, the vegetable juice, or the “natural flavors”. (If it sounds like I am beating a dead horse on this, maybe I am, but then again, how do we know they’re not using dead horses for “natural flavors”?) It is definitely a tasty treat that satisfied my sweet cravings without having to worry about calories or any type of added sweetener. In comparison, one pint of Haagen Dazs Fat Free Raspberry Sorbet has 480 calories with lots of added sugar and corn syrup, while a pint of Mott’s Healthy Harvest has about 125 calories (50 calories in each 3.9 oz cup).

My bottom line is that I know that raw fruits are much healthier for me, but if I am tempted to eat ice cream, I plan on grabbing the Mott’s instead. This flavor isn’t going to be part of my every day eating regimen, but it is a nice treat that I will buy again, I will buy a product that has all its ingredients clearly listed. Let’s all hope that Mott’s isn’t flavoring their applesauce with something natural like eye of newt.