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Freedom Rice Puffs | Chewsday Review

Puffed rice is almost always popular with kids. But is it a nutritious breakfast option? This Chewsday Review features the Freedom Foods brand of Rice Puffs. They’re free form the main allergens (whereas Rice Bubbles still contain gluten). Are these any better? Let’s see..

Ingredients

Positives

Low fat and saturated fat content, well within healthy guidelines.
High fibre content of 4g per serve. This is significantly more than Kelloggs Rice Bubbles (0.8g/serve). One 30g serve would meet about 29% of a toddler’s fibre requirements and 22% of an older child’s requirements.
Lower sodium (salt) content than regular Rice Bubbles at 250mg/100g
Low sugar content at 5.5g/100g. This is a bit less than Kelloggs Rice Bubbles (8.7g/100g).
At $12 a kilo on special but regularly $16 a kilo, the Rice Puffs are actually about the same price as Kelloggs Rice Bubbles in the same sized pack.

Negatives

No added iron. Traditional Rice Bubbles are fortified with iron. This means that iron has been added during the production to boost the naturally occurring levels. This is a good thing for particularly fussy eaters who tend to have difficulty getting enough iron in their diets. One serve of Kelloggs Rice Bubbles meets about 1/3 of iron requirements for young children, whereas these don’t.

Marketing

“Free from gluten, nuts, wheat, dairy, eggs and soy” True, and this is important for kids with food allergies.
“With the goodness of 3 grains.” This is confusing to me! Definitely the goodness of rice, but I’m not sure what the other grains are. The dextrin is a soluble fibre derived from corn so maybe at a stretch I’d pay ‘2 grains’. Bonus points to whoever can identify what the third one is…
“4.5 Health Stars” Yep, fair play.

Alternatives