This comprehensive guide details what to look for and what to avoid when choosing healthier freezer pops. The healthiest freezer pops: Corn syrup, tapioca syrup, and cane sugar are all forms of added sugar that are common ingredients in freezer pops. What about concentrated fruit juice? Pop Ice Freeze From Home Pops Ingredients: Water, high fructose corn syrup, apple and pear juice from concentrate, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Blue 1 Welch’s Freeze Pops Concord Grape Ingredients: Water, sugar, apple juice from concentrate, citric acid, natural flavors, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, fruit and vegetable juice for color, stevia extract

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Carboxymethyl cellulose. Also cellulose gum, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is polysaccharide manufactured from cellulose, found in the cellular walls of plants.

Artificial flavors are made by combining many different chemicals. The exact combination used to create a flavor is proprietary and companies are not required list individual ingredients on a food label. Welch’s Organic Juice Ice Bars Concord Grape Ingredients: Water, concentrated white grape juice, concentrated concord grape juice, cellulose gum, guar gum, gum arabic, malic acid, natural flavor Though considered safe by the FDA, some children have been found to have negative reactions to artificial food coloring.(2)And many common artificial food dyes have been shown to cause allergic reactions in sensitive people.(3)

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Most store-bought Freezer Pops are not healthy options. They often are simply sugar water with artificial colors and preservatives. It is best to avoid the following freezer pops. Jonny Pops Organic Freezer Pops Otter Pops Original Ice Pops Ingredients: Water, high fructose corn syrup, apple and pear juice from concentrate, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Blue 1 Potassium Sorbate is a preservative used in foods such as cheese, wine, soft drinks, fruit drinks, and baked goods. The FDA considers CMS a “generally regarded as safe” food additive. However, growing research links CMC to inflammatory conditions, including inflammatory bowl disease. (11)

Mr. Freeze Freeze Pops Ingredients: Water, glucose-fructose/sugar, citric acid, artificial flavors, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, stevia extract, color

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While no store-bought freezer pops meet our stringent guidelines for “healthy”, there are a few brands that are perfectly okay for the occasional treat. Fun Pops Fruit Flavored Freezer Pops Ingredients: Water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural and artificial flavorings, artificial coloring, gum acacia, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate So, a juice concentrate can be counted as added sugar, depending on how much water is in the food product.Mechanisms of behavioral, atopic, and other reactions to artificial food colors in children. L Stevens, T Kuczek, J Burgess, M Stochelski, L Arnold, L Galland, Nutr Rev (2013) 71 (5):268-281 ( link) Freezer pops vary in size, depending on brand. To compare between products, all nutrition information below is for a 1.5 oz (43 gram) serving. To help compare between brands, added sugar is listed in total grams, teaspoons (red spoons), and percent of frozen treat. Specifically, several studies have shown that people already prone to skin reactions, gastrointestinal disturbances, and asthma may be intolerant of low doses of food preservatives, such as sodium benzoate. (4, 5) Unfortunately, none of the freezer pops we evaluated contained enough fiber to be listed on the Nutrition Facts label.