Blueberry Deception

This interesting video was fodder for discussion with the big boys this afternoon.

Food manufacturers are using blueberry crunchlets and blueberry bits in place of actual blueberries. Yet their products are marketed as containing blueberries- from the large print on the front of the package to the photos of plump blueberries on the box.

This is why I started reading labels! I decided that I was the one responsible for what my family ate (and convicted that their health was largely determined by what I was feeding them!) and I realized that there was competition for my dollar in the food market.

Is it a better use of my money to buy REAL, fresh, locally grown blueberries- even if I only get a few- than a box of blueberry muffins that may seem like a deal but has no actual berries inside and instead has artificial colors, numbers, sugars, hydrogenated fats, and flavors that are detrimental to our health?

This (blueberry deception) scares me a little because I've noticed that 70% of Americans are overweight or obese and our rates of disease are climbing. Blueberrries are just one ingredient, one fruit. The grocery store is well stocked with packaged foods and the buyer should beware.