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ALDI Goldenvale Fruity Bursts Triple Berry | Chewsday Review

This weeks’ Chewsday Review is Aldi’s GoldenVale Fruity Bursts Triple Berry. Crispy cereal pillows filled with apple and berry filling - I’m having a serious cause of déjà vu. Let’s see if this version brings anything unique to the cereal aisle.

Ingredients

Wholegrain Cereals (52%), (Wheat, Oats), Fruit Filling (18%) [Apple Puree, Berry Puree (Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry), Concentrated Blackcurrant Juice, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Humectant (422), Acidity Regulator (296), Gelling Agent (401), Firming Agent (327), Natural Flavour], Wheat Flour, Sugar, Mineral Salt (170), Salt, Vitamins (C, Niacin, Thiamin, Riboflavin), Mineral (Iron).
This cereal contains only a very small amount of berries (2.5%), with apple puree, blackcurrant juice, sugar and glucose syrup providing most of the colour and flavour of the filling.
This ingredients list and nutrition information panel of this product is IDENTICAL to Uncle Tobys Fruity Bites Wildberry. I’ve always heard that Aldi brands are made on the same production lines as many traditional supermarket products, so perhaps there is truth to this rumour!
Allergens: wheat and gluten
May contain: other gluten cereals, milk, soy and tree nuts

Positives

Goldenvale Fruity Bursts Triple Berry will set you back $9.38 per kg, which is cheaper than $13 per kg for Uncle Tobys Fruity Bites Wildberry.
One serve of this cereal contains more than a quarter of the iron a young child needs per day. The amount of added iron is on par with Weet-Bix and Low Sugar Cheerios.
At 45mg per 100g, sodium (salt) content is very low, especially for a breakfast cereal.
These ‘cereal pillows’ could be used as either a breakfast cereal or lunchbox snack, which can be an helpful way to offer an iron-containing food to fussy eaters. They’re easy to pick up, low mess and bite-sized.

Negatives

At 22.3g per 100g, the sugar content of Goldenvale Fruity Bursts is above recommendations.The apple and berry puree only make up 7.5% of this cereal, so while that will contribute some sugar, the majority is from concentrated juice, glucose syrup and added sucrose (sugar).
This cereal provides only 2.3g of fibre per serve, which falls short of our target of 3g per serve. It’s middle of the road in the cereal market – more per serve than Rice Bubbles (0.8g) or Cornflakes (1.5g), but less than Weet-Bix (4.0g) or Low Sugar Cheerios (4.8g).
Although Fruity Bursts are made with fruit, the amount is so small that it barely contributes to daily fruit servings. If you’re aiming to include fruit with breakfast, try serving fresh fruit on the side or as a cereal topping.

Marketing

‘Source of dietary fibre and contains wholegrain’. Vague, but true.
‘One 30g serve of Goldenvale Fruity Bursts contributes 32% towards the Grains & Legumes Nutritional Council 48g Wholegrain Daily Target Intake’. Accurate, but not overly useful! Manufacturers can calculate the wholegrain content of their product and use this to make a range of regulated claims. The target of 48g per day is based on recommendations of 6 serves of grain foods per day for adults, so doesn’t apply for children. Using a target for fibre, rather than wholegrain, is much simpler and makes it easier to compare across all products.
‘Good source of thiamin, niacin, iron; source of vitamin C, riboflavin’. True. These vitamins and minerals are added during processing of many breakfast cereals.

Alternatives

Overall, these aren’t my preferred option as an everyday breakfast cereal due to the added sugar content. Weet-Bix, oats, Sultana Bran and Low Sugar Cheerios are all lower sugar, higher fibre cereal options I would recommend offering regularly.
They could make a good on-the-go snack as they’re low in salt and fortified with iron, which is particularly a bonus for kids who struggle with iron-rich foods like meat. Weet-Bix Wild Berry Bites are another option which also contain iron, but are higher in fibre and slightly lower in added sugar.