Hit or Miss? Raspberry tea, sausage and more

It takes a lot for a food product to succeed. In fact, out of more than 30,000 new food items that were introduced in 2003, less than 5 percent were hits. (And less than 10 percent of all new products are still on supermarket shelves three years after they launch.) To help you avoid spending money on the likely failures, here are this week’s Hits and Misses:

HITS

Ceylon Raspberry Tea
The Original Ceylon Tea Company plantations are located in Sri Lanka’s highest mountains. “High grown” teas are known for their aroma, rich flavor and bright golden color. This delicious raspberry tea contains nothing but “high grown” tea and natural raspberry flavoring. And if you are concerned about overloading on caffeine, this tea contains about 60 mg of caffeine -- about half of what you will find in the average cup of coffee.  For a refreshing summer beverage, this tea is wonderful on ice! $3.99 for 25 tea bags.
www.ceylon-tea.com

Crystal Light Sunrise
Many low-carb dieters have given up a morning favorite, orange juice, because of the carbs. Regular orange juices can contain anywhere from 10 to 30 carbs per serving, while Crystal Light’s version contains no carbs at all. Known for their line of sugar-free beverage mixes, Crystal Light’s Sunrise makes a nice addition that will more than likely satisfy juice cravings without the sugar -- and with only 5 calories per serving. Retails for $3.29 for a 6-quart canister.
www.crystallight.com

CONSUMER-NOMINATED HIT

Healthy Choice Fudge Bar
Here’s what Sue L. from Carlisle, Penn., had to say about this product: “It tastes like a fat-filled Popsicle, but only has 2 Weight Watcher points, and it is very low-fat. You don't know that you are eating a low-fat food at all.” Retails for $4.99 for six 4-oz. bars. Thanks, Sue! Your SupermarketGuru tote bag is on the way.
www.healthychoice.com

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MISS

Johnsonville Heat & Serve Maple Syrup Breakfast Sausage
Breakfast is that meal we are always told is the most important one of the day, and too often busy Americans either skip it or eat junk food in a hurry. So we were excited to see a product designed to make breakfast quick and easy. This product accomplishes that -- but what they don’t do is make it much more nutritious than junk food. The hardcore low-carb dieter may disagree and be attracted to this product because of its 9g of protein and only 3g of carbs. But, if you’re not on that bandwagon, you might want to think about the 20g of fat, 40mg of cholesterol, and 690mg (!) of sodium. And, that’s not all. Look in the ingredients list and find that these breakfast sausage links contain monosodium glutamate (MSG). Why are companies really still creating products with that stuff? Retails for $3.49-$3.99.
www.johnsonville.com

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CONSUMER-NOMINATED MISS

Hood Low Carb Yogurt
Here’s what Debb K. from Irving, Texas, had to say about this product: “This is the worst-tasting stuff I have had in a long time. It looked very good before I tasted it, but the first bite was terrible, and I could not finish the serving. It tasted of chalk and left a horrible aftertaste. So for a low-carb diet, this, in my opinion, will not work.” Flavors are Strawberry, Strawberry Banana, French Vanilla, Raspberry, Peach and Blueberry. Retails for $.75 for a 6-oz pot. Thanks, Debb! Your SupermarketGuru tote bag is on the way.
www.hphood.com

Phil Lempert is food editor of the “Today” show. He welcomes questions and comments — as well as nominations for “hits” and “misses” in this column — which can be sent to phil.lempert@nbc.com. If he selects your nomination for publication, he’ll send you a SupermarketGuru.com Tote Bag! You can also visit his website at www.supermarketguru.com.

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