After reading the Quaker Chewy 90 Calorie Granola Bars box, there was something about the ingredients that didn’t make sense. I wrote The Quaker Oats Company, a division of PepsiCo, to get to the bottom of it (among other things)…
Dear Quaker Bakers,
You say your Quaker Chewy 90 Calorie Bars are, “Made Without High-Fructose Corn Syrup.” Yet the ingredients on many of them include, “Corn Syrup” and “Fructose.” The Oatmeal Raisin, Honey Nut and Chocolate Chunk ingredients each list corn syrup twice and 2% or less of fructose. That’s been throwing me off a little. Sounds like those ingredients are still in there. How do you explain that?
In an effort to understand your manufacturing process a little better, can you also please describe how you sew your wild oats? They must be pretty wild if you have to sew them. What’s involved and is it something that’s exciting to watch?
Finally, who’s the Quaker on all your boxes and how long has he been the face of your products? Out of curiosity, what percentage of your staff are actually Quakers?
A Consumer Relations Representative from PepsiCo responded with:
Thank you for contacting us about Quaker Chewy 90 Calorie Granola Bars. We are sorry and understand why the presence of hydrogenated oils/trans-fats causes you concern.
Quaker has always offered nutritious products that are low in fat. The bulk of our products has relatively lower levels of trans fats (0.5 to 1 gram) and we are investigating opportunities to improve these products. Our goal is to continue looking for ways to eliminate or reduce trans fats in all of our products over time.
In reference to your question about our manufacturing process. Our milling process includes the removal of the hulls, the oats are then cleaned, steamed to eliminate the undesirable enzymes present in the raw oats, they are toasted to give them a roasted, nutty flavor. The groats are then steamed a second time before they are flattened into flakes by a set of large steel rollers to cut them into the different types of oats.
The Quaker Logo goes back to 1877 and was registered as a trademark for our product. It’s a chosen trademark because Quakers projected values and standards of honesty, integrity and strength.
We thank you for your interest in our products.
Final Thoughts: It’s comforting that Quaker is sorry and understands why hydrogenated oils/trans fats causes me concern. I’m also thrilled to learn of their goal to reduce or eliminate them. However, while I am concerned about hydrogenated oils/trans fats, I didn’t express any of those concerns in the letter. I simply asked them to explain why they say “Made Without High-Fructose Corn Syrup” while the ingredients still say corn syrup and fructose.
Does that mean Quaker uses Low-Fructose Corn Syrup instead of High-Fructose Corn Syrup? If so, why wouldn’t they say Made With Low-Fructose Corn Syrup rather than Made Without High-Fructose Corn Syrup? Isn’t that like someone who’s 5 foot 9 saying they’re a few inches shorter than 6 foot 1? Or is fructose corn syrup completely different than fructose and corn syrup when added separately? Even if it is, it would seem that when the fructose mixes with the corn syrup, you still end up with fructose corn syrup no matter what the levels. Either way, every product has its highs and lows, but there has to be some middle ground that makes sense of it all!
The information about their milling process was much more educational — especially since I wasn’t really sure whether they even sewed their wild oats. For all I knew, they might have sowed them or chosen to keep them completely celibate. The Quaker Logo answer also provided nice insight into their brand and what it stands for, but I’d still love to know how many Quakers work there.
If you want a tasty snack made without high-fructose corn syrup, try Quaker Chewy 90 Calorie Granola Bars. Although, when you want to learn more about what’s behind a brand, or chew over the meaning of a product claim with a manufacturer, you might get some answers if you Write The Company.
