Update to Jr.’s serving size

Have you ever wondered how the FDA determines what nutrition facts need to go on nutrition labels and how they come up with the recommended daily amounts?  Me too!  After loads of research and professional input, I am still fairly baffled.

I have followed the rules with Prunies® and Prunies® Jr., but just so you know, in addition to blatant violations (from my count, about 50% of “big candy” does not have FDA compliant packaging), there are loopholes out there.  For example: if a product’s packaging is smaller than a particular size, you can forgo certain requirement.  Yes.  It’s arbitrary and something to look out for.

When it comes to kids, IMHO, things really don’t hold together.  There are only two nutritional guidelines categories for specifically for children.  Under 12 months and 1-3 years old.  After that, anyone over 4 years old has the same nutritional recommendations as adults.  To me, these groupings are way too broad.  I don’t have kids myself, but I’m pretty sure one year olds and three year olds have very different dietary preferences and requirements.  And a four year old with the same nutrition panel as a 40 year old?  Hmmm.

This is why I’ve based my Prunies® Jr. serving size on pediatric recommendations and split it out for 2-3 year olds and 4+ year old kids.  When I first launched, I had these groups blended, but different from Original Prunies® for adults.  The FDA’s new 1-3 year old recommendations are based on a 1,000 calorie diet, so I wanted to reflect that on my nutrition panel.  I’ll be frank – I do not want 1 year olds eating Prunies® regardless of what the FDA says, so I did not use their standard “1-3” year old category.  Prunies® Jr. are for 2+ year old kids that are seated, supervised and accustomed to eating chewy and solid foods.  And, of course, your child is unique!  Please ask your pediatrician first if Prunies® jr. is right for your situation.

There is zero change to the product or ingredients – just the serving size.  You can find the image of the new nutrition label here.  And of course, if you have any questions, please contact me here.

Thank you!