"beet juice and purple cabbage"
Uh, no thanks!
"Iconic Necco wafers go all-natural; Green color lost as cabbage, beet juice are utilized" by Bob Salsberg, Associated Press | October 27, 2009
Well, I won't be buying Neccos to suck on anymore.
All-natural might be all the rage in the food world, but will candy lovers have a sweet tooth for beet juice and purple cabbage?
Necco sure hopes so. The 162-year-old Massachusetts company is taking its venerable Necco Wafers all-natural, making them the largest mass-produced candy line in the United States to shed artificial flavoring and colors.
Necco, short for New England Confectionary Co., cranks out about 4 billion of the roughly quarter-sized wafers each year, packaging them in large rolls (36 wafers) and junior rolls (nine wafers). Beet juice, purple cabbage, cocoa powder, and turmeric - a spice often used in curries - are some of the natural ingredients in the new wafers, which will be phased in at retail stores before and after Halloween.
“Kids aren’t going to go ‘Yippee! It’s all natural!’ but they might say to their parents . . . ‘Look, it’s all natural, it’s right on the package!’’’ said Steve Almond, author of “Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America,’’ and a self-professed fan of Necco wafers.
The change, a big one for an iconic sweet that has changed little since its creation in 1847, was driven by the trend toward all-natural products, said Jackie Hague, the company’s vice president for marketing. She said prices will stay the same and consumers will notice little difference in taste, while the natural colors will give the candy a more muted, pastel appearance....
Then why did I just spit it out?
**********************
Biting into the new treats reveals no obvious taste of the purple cabbage, beet juice, or other natural flavorings. As always, the hard, sugary discs are smooth with a slightly chalky texture, and very sweet.... Necco said the switch is not in response to sales. The company reported wafer sales of more than $9.2 million in 2008, an 8 percent increase from the prior year, though sales have been relatively flat in convenience stores and supermarkets, Hague said.
And I'm not helping.
--more--"
