Infuzions Veggie Rings Aussie Barbecue | Chewsday Review
It's time to put another snack through the ring-er. Let's see if Infuzions Aussie Barbecue Veggie Rings can bring home the sizzle or if those veggie claims go up in smoke.
- Vegetable (54%) (Yellow Pea, Potato, Onion, Garlic, Tomato), Sunflower and/or Canola Oil, Rice, Sugar, Salt, Food Acids (Sodium Diacetate, Citric Acid), Mineral Salt (Potassium Chloride), Yeast Extract, Spice, Maltodextrin (Potato), Natural Flavours, Natural Colour (Paprika Extract), Antioxidants (Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract).
- Allergens: Milk.
- May contain: Gluten, milk, soy, peanut, almond, cashew, sesame.
- These Aussie Barbecue Veggie Rings contain some added sugar (6.7g per 100g), but it is well within my target (15g per 100g). Each 15g bag contains just 1g of sugar which is around a ¼ teaspoon. This is more than Arnott’s Bluey Pizza Flavoured Snacks (1.9g per 100g), Infuzions Veggie Straws (2.3g per 100g) and Messy Monkeys Whole Grain Bites Cheese (3.4g per 100g) but less than Infuzions Bluey Poppeas (8.4g per 100g).
- I’m looking for products to have less than 3g of saturated fat per 100g and this product is also within my target at 1.8g per 100g. This is on par with Infuzions Veggie Straws, Bluey Poppeas and interestingly their lookalike, Burger Rings but slightly less than Arnott’s Bluey Pizza Flavoured Snacks and Messy Monkeys Whole Grain Bites Cheese (both 2.3g per 100g).
- At 54% vegetables (yellow peas, potato, onion, garlic, tomato), they *technically* have more veggie cred than many other savoury snacks. However, it’s important to note that ingredients like yellow peas have likely been milled into flour and processed into a puffed snack, so they’re not equivalent to eating them in their true form.
- At 538mg of sodium per 100g, this is above my target of 400mg or less per 100g. This is more than Bluey Poppeas (347mg per 100g), Messy Monkeys Whole Grain Bites Cheese (435mg per 100g), Arnott’s Bluey Pizza Flavoured Snacks (447mg per 100g) and Infuzions Veggie Straws (508mg per 100g) but considerably less than Burger Rings (957mg per 100g).
- I’m looking for products to have at least 3g of fibre per serve, Veggie Rings only have 0.9g per serve which isn’t going to be very filling. This is on par with Bluey Poppeas (0.7g per serve) and Infuzions Veggie Straws (0.6g). Messy Monkeys Whole Grain Bites Cheese and Arnott’s Bluey Pizza Flavoured Snacks have considerably more fibre per serve (2g and 2.2g respectively).
- Just like lots of other packaged savoury snacks, they are fairly pricey! Each 5 pack will set you back $4.00 which works out to 80c per pack or over $53 per kilo.
- “4.0 Health Star Rating.” This shows they compare fairly well to other savoury snacks.
- “72 calories per cup.” Sure, but this isn’t our main focus for kids’ food and isn’t an indicator of how nutritious a product is.
- “54% veggie goodness.” Technically true but check out my thoughts above!
- “30% less fat than regular chips” this checks out for products like Smith’s Crinkle Cut but not for their doppelgänger Burger Rings (FYI Veggie Rings contain around 17% less fat than Burger Rings).
- “Baked not fried.” Doesn’t tell us too much, they could be baked in oil?!
- “Plant protein powered.” They contain 14.2g of protein per 100g (or 14% protein). One 15g pack provides 15% of a toddler’s daily protein requirements but we know that most children already exceed their protein needs across a day.
- “Vegan friendly.” Correct, there are no animal-derived ingredients.
- Overall, Infuzions Veggie Rings Aussie Barbecue are relatively low in fibre and exceed my target for sodium. The small package size and lack of fibre mean they are unlikely to be very for filling for children.
- Similar packaged snacks like Arnott’s Bluey Pizza Flavoured Snacks and Messy Monkeys Whole Grain Bites Cheese contain more fibre for a similar level of sodium.
- Looking for more support choosing snacks? My Toddler and Family Mealtimes memberships include a comprehensive product guide for savoury snacks, as well as over 15 other categories.
The composition of food products changes regularly. The nutritional values of the products in this Chewsday Review were correct at the time of publishing.
