Are Sour Patch Kids Gluten Free?
You may be familiar with the slogan “Sour, sweet, gone”. It is a tagline for the popular delicious sour, but sweet candy with a gummy-like texture, sour patch kids. It is made for both kids and adults and is often a classic Halloween treat, office handouts, and even an afternoon sugar kick.
Kids, adults, and the whole world is asking this question “are sour patch kids gluten free?”. Knowing this is essential, especially for those who work on a strict gluten free diet. So what is contained in sour patch kids? What is it made of and is it gluten free? All these and more will be answered in this article as you continue to read.
SOUR PATCH KIDS
Sour patch kids, also known as “Very Bad Kids” in some parts of the world like France, are soft gummy candies, that are sour but coated with sugar, which creates that mixed sweet-sour taste. It was originally created by Frank Galatolie of Jaret International in the early 1970s, and he had called it Mars Men, before it was re-branded by the Allen Candy Company in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1985 when it got the name Sour Patch Kids.
However, the company is currently owned by Mondelez International, a company in New Jersey. The sugar coating on these gummy candies is made with tartaric acid and citric acid which reacts with your saliva when you chew it, to create that strong sour flavor, before the sweet gummy under the coating is released.
WHAT IS SOUR PATCH KIDS MADE OF
There are different versions of the Sour patch, with their different flavors. Here is a list of ingredients and the nutritional content of Sour patch kids and 2 other Sour patch products with a different versions of Sour patch kids:
Sour Patch Kids Original
Ingredients:
- Sugar
- Corn syrup
- Modified corn starch
- Less than 2% of tartaric acid
- Citric acid
- Invert sugar
- Natural and artificial flavorings
- Yellow 6
- Blue 1
- Yellow 5
- Red 40
Nutritional Profile per 30g of 2 snack-sized bags:
- Calories: 110
- Fat: 0g
- Carbs: 27g
- Sugar: 19g
- Fiber: 0g
- Sodium: 20mg
- Protein: 0g
SOUR PATCH KIDS WATERMELON
Ingredients:
- Sugar
- Tartaric acid
- Citric acid
- Glucose syrup
- Modified corn starch
- Artificial flavor
- Color with tartrazine
Nutritional Profile per 39g of Sour patch kids:
- Calories: 140
- Fat: 0g
- Carbs: 34g
- Sugar: 30g
- Fiber: 0g
- Sodium: 40mg
- Protein: 0g
Sour Patch Kids Extreme Sour
Ingredients:
- Sugar
- Invert sugar
- Modified corn starch
- Corn syrup
- Tartaric acid
- Citric acid
- Lactic acid
- Natural and artificial flavor
- Yellow 6
- Blue 1
- Red 40
- Yellow 5
Nutritional Profile per 40g of Sour patch kids:
- Calories: 150
- Fat: 0g
- Carbs: 37g
- Sugar: 26g
- Fiber: 0g
- Sodium: 25g
- Protein: 0g
ARE SOUR PATCH KIDS HEALTHY
Although they are mostly consumed by kids, Sour patch kids are not healthy as they contain extremely high content of sugar, in addition to the artificial ingredients used in making them, including high fructose corn syrup. The level of sugar contained in Sour patch kids can trigger our bodies to release insulin, leading to an increase in blood sugar level, and continuous consumption of these sugar-packed candies can be detrimental to our health. When we continue to have rapid rise and fall in our blood sugar level, it affects our mood and causes irregular energy levels and physical fatigue it can also lead to insulin resistance over time, which can be damaging the cells and ultimately leads to diabetes.
Other chronic diseases may be developed over time too, as our internal organs stop functioning optimally. Sour patch kids are also extremely acidic and high consumption of it can cause an abrasion of the teeth enamel, exposing it to possible damage or decay. Because of their unhealthy nature, it is best to consume Sour patch occasionally, to be on the safer side.
ARE SOUR PATCH KIDS GLUTEN FREE
Gluten is a protein found naturally in whole grains, such as wheat, barley, farro, spelt, rye, and kamut. It acts as a glue that helps to hold these whole grains together, to maintain their shape. There are so many people whose diets are strictly gluten free. What this means is that they are allowed to eat anything, excluding foods containing gluten. So for them, it is important to know if whatever they are eating contains gluten, even sour patch kids, because eating anything that isn’t gluten-free may have a negative reaction on them. This is seen mostly in people who are medically diagnosed with Celiac disease, or other medical conditions associated with gluten such as gluten ataxia, wheat allergy, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Back to the question, “are Sour patch kids gluten-free?”.
Although the labels of the candy do not say gluten-free, likely because the company has not had the product formally certified to be gluten-free, you can tell from the list of ingredients both provided in this article and that seen on the packaging of sour patch kids, that there is no gluten containing ingredient, so it may be safe to say that Sour patch kids are gluten-free. However, if you are extremely sensitive to gluten that even the minute amount can trigger a reaction, then you should probably consider other candy options that are completely glute-free.
ARE SOUR PATCH KIDS VEGAN
One of the common ingredients that strike out in the vegan community is gelatin, and notably, Sour patch kids are gelatin-free. And every other ingredient used in making them is from plant-derived sources, however, this depends on where you live. In some countries, Sour patch kids are not vegan, while in some other countries, they are potentially vegan. For instance, in the U.K Sour patch contains gelatin, but those sold in the U.S are gelatin-free.
Gelatin is made from the skin, bones, tendons, and ligaments of cows or pigs, which makes it non-vegan friendly. Anything with a gummy texture, often are made with gelatin to create that gummy texture, however with the list of ingredients above, Sour patch kids sold in the U.S do not contain gelatin.
So what gives it its gummy texture?
Corn syrup and modified corn starch which are ingredients used in making Sour patch kids, can be used as bonding agents. So it seems Sour patch kids produced in the U.S uses those instead of gelatin.
INGREDIENTS USED FOR SOUR PATCH KIDS
- Sugar
- Glucose syrup
- Water
- Starch
- Gelatin
- Malic acid
- Concentrated apple juice
- Acidity regulator (calcium citrate)
- Palm oil
- Flavorings
- Colors
Therefore, depending on your region, Sour patch kids can either be vegan or non-vegan.
OTHER GLUTEN-FREE SOUR PATCH KIDS CANDY ALTERNATIVES
You may enjoy and feel comfortable eating these certified gluten-free candies if you do not trust that Sour patch kids are gluten-free since it is not indicated on their labels. Here is a list of some great low-sugar, low-preservative gluten-free candies that taste just like the traditional sour patch kids:
1. Yum Earth Sour Twist
It was created by 2 dads in 2007, who pledge that their candies are organic, non-GMO, peanut-free, tree-nut free, vegan, gluten-free, and made without eggs, soy or dairy. All of its packaging are made environmentally friendly, following the LEED sustainable building guidelines.
Here is a list of what this sour but yummy candy is made of:
- Organic cane sugar
- Organic tapioca starch
- Organic brown rice flour
- Organic palm fruit oil
- Organic brown rice syrup
- Organic concentrated apple juice
- Citric acid
- Tartaric acid
- Sunflower lecithin
- Trisodium citrate
Its nutritional profile per 19.8g, 1 snack pack serving includes:
- Calories: 70
- Fat: 1g
- Protein: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Carbs: 14g
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 20mg
If you are looking for a Sour patch alternative, you may want to consider trying out this Sour twist.
2. Smart Sweet Sour Blast Buddies Gummy Candies
Smart Sweets was originally produced to solve the lack of low-sugar alternatives on the market. It contains no sugar alcohols, no artificial sweeteners, and has up to 92% less sugar compared to other traditional candy alternatives.
This is another great Sour patch kids alternative, however, if you already consume a high level of fiber in your daily diet, then you want to be careful with smart sweets, as it contains a very high fiber content due to the chicory root fiber used in making it.
3. LILY’S SOUR WORMS
These are also low-sugar content candies and they are made with stevia, non-GMO, certified gluten-free ingredients. They have great similarities with the Sour patch kids that you will enjoy.
CONCLUSION
Based on the list of ingredients contained in Sour Patch Kids, they are gluten-free, although the label doesn’t indicate so, probably because they are yet to be certified to be gluten-free, however, if you do not trust your gut, there are so many other sour-sweet gummy like candies on the market that you could try.