Here are the first three ingredients in a jar of pseudo-peanut butter JIF (taken directly from the label). Ingredients by amount: CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SUGAR, PEA PROTEIN. These are followed by a chemistry set of seven chemical ingredients. The first question is what is the food value of "corn syrup solids". These "solids" are the mash that remains after the high fructose corn syrup has been squeezed out of it. Mothers, just how much healthy nutrition do you think your children will get from eating this mash? But if the first ingredient of JIF wasn't bad enough, the second is even worse. The four grams of sugar in two tablespoons of this stuff is just another factor in the tremendous amounts of sugar that American producers put in their food that leads to child obesity. And the wording of the third ingredient, "pea protein" is singularly uninformative. What is pea protein and what is its source? Food labels should not have to be deciphered; label information should tell us just what we are eating
It is scary just how good the marketers of JIF are. The label on the jar is a masterpiece of misdirection. Words taken directly from the label: "Fresh Roasted Peanut Taste", "25% less fat than peanut butter" and "Peanut butter spread 60% peanuts". If this peanut butter spread is 60% peanuts, why aren't peanuts listed as the first ingredient instead of corn syrup solids? All of this misdirection screams that buyers beware.
This fake food is put out by the Smuckers Company. For a long time the Smuckers slogan is "With a name like Smuckers it has to be good". That slogan should be revised to "With a name like Smuckers watch out what they feed your children". Just how close JIF comes to being a detriment to childhood health is a question that American mothers must answer before they buy another jar of this ersatz food. Mothers, you are a consumer, act like a knowledgeable one. American food producers have to do better than this; the health of the nation depends on it.