Garrett

It is important to note that the FRUIT is just like what is sold in grocery stores throughout the United States. I'm a fan of Brothers-All-Natural and let's be fair, their fruit comes from all over the world (just like all of their competitors as well). Their fruit (per the bags and their website) includes the US, Equador, Chile, and China. However, to freeze-dry the mass quantities of fruit that they require to fulfill the demand for Fruit Crisps, they turned to a facility in China for the freeze-drying process.

Out of all the freeze-dried fruit on the market about 75% of it is freeze-dried in China, as no where else can handle the necessary level of production throughput. This might change in the coming years as freeze-drying is becoming more and more common, but as of 2012 this is still the way it is.

As for the Brothers-All-Natural brand, they adhere to more "production standards" and certifications than any other major brand of freeze-dried fruit. See their webpage regarding this issue here: http://www.brothersallnatural.com/food-safety/

I am only posting this counter-argument to make the argument that a blanket statement such as "made in China" does not mean what is being insinuated that this means. Fruit Crisps are completely safe, 100% healthy. Even leading health experts have endorsed their products - see here: http://www.brothersallnatural.com/freeze-dried-fruit-crisps-chosen-by-leading-health-experts/

I am anxious to ensure people know that these Fruit Crisps are safe and nutritious. They test more than any of their competitors to ensure a safe and healthy product.


Saturday, April 28th 2012  at  10:54am

April

Hi Garrett,

As a wife and as a young mother I am very concerned with the origin of the food that I buy. I want fresh, quality food for my family.

Other Made In China fruit chip brands, like Fruitzio, proudly stamp their products with Made In China. With Brothers, however, the stamp is highly discreet.

The reality is these are so simple and fast to make, I don't need China to do it for me. I will be posting a fun, kid friendly recipe this week so that you can make these yourself.

It's really not worth the fossil fuel waste to get this type of thing from China. and yes, there are valid reasons for Moms to worry about food safety.

Saturday, April 28th 2012  at  4:51pm

Garrett

Thank you for responding to my comment. Though I am not sure I agree with your insinuation that Brothers-All-Natural is not acting above board on their packaging. To support my statement please realize that they give the same amount of space on their bags to list the countries of origin (or the manufacturing facility's location) as they do to list their "food safety" certifications. I think they're more concerned with Branding, which makes sense for a mass marketed "convenience snack" that is healthy.

If the Brothers were being sneaky in some manner, it would make more sense to make their "food safety" certifications much larger (speaking of the font size) while the origin of the fruit much smaller. However, they do not do this - rather they make both the same size to leave more room for the bag's marketing aspects. (Even responsible companies are "in business" to turn a profit, that is why they exist.)

I'm glad you're interested in health and wellness, as well as protective of what you feed your family. Sharing recipes to show how to make Fruit Snacks in your own home is great. Looking forward to reading those.

But to be intellectually honest, much of the fruit people consume in the US comes from abroad. For instance, your "Original Fast Food" posting about Bananas. (I love that concept - kudos. We LOVE Bananas in our house - husband, wife, and 2 teenagers.)

It is important to note that Bananas are Not grown in the US, all of these bananas in our grocery stores (whether organic or not organic) are all coming via fossil fuels to the US. It may be unfortunate in some ways, but thank goodness we can have Bananas!


Sunday, April 29th 2012  at  7:12am

April

Hi Garrett,

China is all over the US grocery store and most consumers just don't know. This isn't about politics for me, so please hear me out. I'd like this conversation to stay open, candid, and honest.

Regarding Brothers, Here's what I propose: Let's get organic apples from Wenatchee, Washington (Delicious, don't you agree?) and manufacture the Brothers All Natural Fruit snacks in an economically depressed region of the United States of America, instead China. Purchasing, manufacturing and selling in this country will naturally keep costs low. By removing the existing trans-Atlantic shipping costs and the laborious testing that you've referenced, profits will naturally go up. Honest profit is wonderful.

I'm happy to 'roll up my sleeves' and look through the P&L statements with Brothers (or any fruit crisp competitor for that matter) to find creative ways help this happen. Additionally, my family will personally provide $10,000 of advertising, public relations and marketing to promote US grown and US manufactured fruit crisps. I hope Brothers considers this, as I do enjoy Brothers packaging. Additionally, I think Brothers is in the position to be highly successful (with a 100% US product) because that's what Moms like me are looking for, and Brothers currently has distribution reach to Moms like me.

Regarding the bananas, I'm glad you brought those up. They are naturally Brother's biggest competitor (naturally, get it?) Bananas are very different than apples because bananas are on the Clean 15 while apples are listed on the dirty 12.


More info on dirty dozen here: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/the-dirty-dozen-and-clean-15-of-produce/616/




Sunday, April 29th 2012  at  4:17pm

Brian Burnett

"I didn't know these were made in China! Garrett, can we make these in the USA?"

Sunday, April 29th 2012  at  5:06pm

Katie

I didn't know these were made in China! Garrett, can we make these in the USA?

Sunday, April 29th 2012  at  5:20pm

Natasha

What a great idea, April! The positive advertising of switching to a fruit grown in the USA will likely make up for much of the cost. I can see this making a fantastic news story that will reach people, like me, who have never heard of this product before.

I am guessing I don't even need to get into the human rights arguments here...

Sunday, April 29th 2012  at  5:44pm

Jenny

Let's get those made here in the US! Being able to "boast" that on the packaging would only make it more appealing to buyers like me, and help to provide jobs for individuals here.

Sunday, April 29th 2012  at  6:45pm

Diana

Brothers Fruit Crisps are Made in China? Who knew? These could be made here in the USA! I am looking for food that is healthy and safe for my grandchildren.

Sunday, April 29th 2012  at  7:50pm

David

American people should be so upset that China is giving our kids food.

Sunday, April 29th 2012  at  8:42pm

Seth Cochran

I'm shocked that these are made in China. Its dried fruit - other than harvesting, which cannot be a huge component of cost, there is virtually no cost of labor here. All I can think is that the pricing on apples in China must be highly subsidized by the government to the point that it makes economic sense to do this otherwise irrational offshoring. Or maybe the freeze drying process in china allows a lot more loose chemical processes that do little for the environment or our health. Not really in line with the Brothers brand proposition, right? I have extensive experience in costing and multinational sourcing. Brothers, please let me help show you how it makes greater economic sense to serve Americans with an American fruit product.

Monday, April 30th 2012  at  12:12am

Garrett

I have contacted Brothers-All-Natural in the past and they are more than willing to dialog. Please contact them directly: http://www.brothersallnatural.com/contact/

Also, as for Apples, 99.9% of the pesticides reside on the skins. Brothers-All-Natural removes the skins before freeze-drying, along with other procedures, and that is how they produce a 100%-pesticide-free Apple Fruit product. I know this, because I asked them myself and they explained.

I feel confident in their product for many reasons, such as the Food Safety Certifications they adhere to as well as the health experts who have endorsed Fruit Crisps. http://www.brothersallnatural.com/food-safety/

As for "tainted" or "bad" food products recalled from the market over the past 4 years or so, these recalls in recent years have all been for products grown in the US. Virtually all of the tainted food recalls over the past 4 years have been for produce grown in the United States (I'm really not making this up, do the research and you will see, the most recent recalls due to tainted food have mainly been for products grown in the US.)

I'm not saying that all US produce is bad (of course not), but rather that just because something is grown in the US does not mean that it is safe. Even here in the US our food companies should seek to obtain the Food Safety Certifications that Brothers-All-Natural adheres to. This has a lot to do with why I believe Fruit Crisps are safe, healthy, and nutritious. The Brothers explain this on their Food Safety Page.

I am a fan of Fruit Crisps as they are one of the few 100% all-natural, nothing added Fruit Snacks. I love Brothers-All-Natural and will continue to eat them, as well as my family (including my kids). Thanks for the conversation.


Monday, April 30th 2012  at  7:29am

April

Just wanted to share another link on why food from China should be a concern:

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/reports/a-decade-of-dangerous-food-imports-from-china/

" In 2009, 70 percent of the apple juice, 43 percent of the processed mushrooms, 22 percent of the frozen spinach and 78 percent of the tilapia Americans ate came from China."

"Melamine-tainted milk products sickened hundreds of thousands of infants in China, and melamine contamination is believed to be responsible for thousands of pet deaths in the United States. Melamine adulteration garnered the most headlines, but systemic food safety failures in China have allowed unsafe foods onto global grocery store shelves. The Wild West business environment in China encourages food manufacturers to cut costs and corners. Even Chinese officials have publicly acknowledged their inability to regulate the country’s sprawling food production sector."

Friday, May 4th 2012  at  8:53am