RUNTS SOLD IN CANADA - BEWARE!!

[deb]

We had success with runts sold in buik at our local candy store about a month ago, and when I saw them at London Drugs (Canadian drugstore chain) for half the price last week, I bought up several boxes. Well, it seems as though something has dramatically changed, and not for the better on the fructose front!

Now, as a disclaimer, so to speak, our daughter has not been diagnosed with HFI ("just" FM thus far) but she is extremely sensitive to fructose. After having a handful of the new Runts this afternoon, she became very lethargic and irritable, and for the following hours she was acting as though her blood sugar was quite low, despite food and rockets. We got to talking about possible culprits, and she mentioned that these Runts were much, much sweeter than the previous batch she had eaten, and that in particular, the green ones, which were sour in the previous batch, were very sweet. In fact, she didn't like the green ones at all previously as she hates sour, and this time she gobbled them up.

I therefore think that Wonka must have just changed their formulation, perhaps only in Canada but please beware in case this is a permanent and widespread change. We are going to go back to the other candy store and taste test their stock to see if they still have the safe stuff left, and if so, buy it all up!!
Best, Deb

[sarosh]

I had the same experience in Dubai where they get them from the US.

Sarosh

[Tammy]

As I was rummaging through the candy isle this Easter, I also noticed that most of the candy that used to just contain dextrose now lists dextrose and sugar both. Runts was one I checked. So apparently they have changed their recipe in both Canada and the US.
I could still get smarties (rockets in Canada) and pixie stix. Even some sweet tarts had sugar. What a bummer.

On the upside, we did find some gummy butterflies that were safe!

[deb]

Hi Tammy,
We also tried the sweet tarts a few months ago (which looked safe according to the label) and they were a miserable failure. There must be different labeling requirements here. We have a steady supply of Rockets, and some pixie stix, so at least there's a "Safe stash"- for now!
Good on you for your gummy butterflies-- I can imagine the thrill of the find!
I am beginning to understand why the aversion to sweets can be beneficial, given the opportunities for disaster with manufacturers switching ingredients frequently.... That said, have you tried anything from Frusano?

[Tammy]

The kids who don't like sweets are better off by a long shot. But for the kids who do like them, it is a constant struggle to make sure they are safe.

I haven't tried anything from Frusano. I can't get it locally and so far I've always manage to make do. I can get chocolate made with maltitol which Regina does fine on. Gertrude Hawks used to make a SF peanut butter cup which was her absolute favorite. USED to being the key word here. Sadly, even though the chocolate is still ok, they switched to a peanut butter containing sugar. So now we just get the plain chocolate.

There is also a local candy store that uses a safe chocolate for her. That is where we found the gummy butterflies. I didn't think she'd really like them do to the artificial fruit flavors, but apparently they don't really taste like real fruit. ;D

"Bobs" make a SF peppermint mint that she uses for dragon breath. There is also a butterscotch hard candy I can get, but since she didn't like them, I can't remember what they were.

And lets hope they never change the smarties/rockets. We would be heartbroken without them.

My son lives in Amsterdam and he has sent a package over with necklaces and lipstick candy in. Her birthday is Friday so we're hoping the box gets here for then. She will be all excited for something new.