Berri Quelch Tropical Fruit Juice Icy Tubes | Chewsday Review

This Chewsday Review is of Berri Quelch Tropical Fruit Juice Icy Tubes. Keep on reading to hear if I warm to them, or they leave me cold.

Ingredients

Reconstituted Fruit Juices (Apple (93.2%), Grape (3.2%), Pear (1%), Orange (0.5%), Pineapple (0.5%), Passionfruit (0.3%), Mango (0.2%), Blackcurrant (0.1%)), Colours (102, 110, 150d, 163), Flavours, Thickener (466), Preservatives (202, 211, 223), Food Acid (Citric acid).
Although these are ‘tropical’ flavoured icy poles, they are predominantly apple juice, and less than 2% juice from what I’d consider to be tropical fruits.
Reconstituted fruit juice is when the water is extracted from the juice, and added back at a later date. This makes it easier to transport and to increase shelf stability. Some of the vitamins and minerals are retained and some are lost.
Allergens: sulphites.

Positives

The sugar in Berri Quelch Icy Tubes (9.9g per 100g) is from naturally-occurring sugar in fruit juice, rather than added sugar. This is similar to Juicies Tropical Ice Blocks which are made from 100% fruit juice and contain 11.0g sugar per 100g. In comparison, Zooper Dooper icy poles contain 15.8g sugar per 100g, all of which is added sugar.
As I’d expect from an icy pole, these are low in fat (<1g per 100g) and sodium (20g per 100g).

Negatives

These icy poles are low in fibre (<1g per 100g), which I’d expect as the fibre from whole fruit is lost when its processed into juice. Fresh, canned or frozen fruit, or a fruit smoothie are all higher fibre options.
At $7.80 for a pack, these are kind of expensive for basically juice in little plastic packets, working out as $4.60 per litre or kilogram. In the pack you’ll get 24 icy poles, which work out to 1.6L of juice. In comparison, many reconstituted juices cost about half of that, around $4-5.00 for a two litre bottle. It would be much cheaper to just freeze your own juice.
If you’re aiming to reduce soft plastic waste, the individual packaging of these icy poles doesn’t help. Freezing juice or smoothies into reusable icy pole molds will save you money in the long run and reduce plastic waste.

Marketing

“99% fruit juice”. Yes this is true, but drinking juice isn’t the same as eating a piece of fruit.
“5 Health Star Rating”. This high rating tells us that these icy poles compare well to other products in their category, which are made mostly from water and sugar.
“No added sugar”. Sure.
“No artificial colours”. Likely true, although there is no way to verify this.
“No artificial flavours”. Again, likely true.

Alternatives

If icy poles are something your family enjoys and you’re looking for a convenient option, Quelch Icy Poles are lower in sugar to some others such as Zooper Doopers for a similar price.
A cheaper option could be to make your own icy poles at home using juice.
For a higher fibre option that’s still fruity and refreshing, try a smoothie made with frozen fruit, my Fruit “Ice Cream” or Frozen Yoghurt Bark recipes, available from the Toddler and Family Mealtimes recipe collections.

The composition of food products changes regularly. The nutritional values of the products in this Chewsday Review were correct at the time of publishing.