Kirkland Signature Jelly Belly 49 Flavors Gourmet Jelly Beans — DUMP

Name: Kirkland Signature Jelly Belly 49 Flavors Gourmet Jelly Beans
Brand: Kirkland Signature

Munch or Dump rates Kirkland Signature Jelly Belly 49 Flavors Gourmet Jelly Beans by Kirkland Signature DUMP — score 17/90.

Sugar and corn syrup candy painted with a full stack of artificial dyes. The tiny fruit purees are window dressing on what is basically flavored sugar.

Why this verdict

Sugar is the #1 ingredient and corn syrup the #2 — almost pure fast sugar
Full artificial dye stack: Red 40, Yellow 5 & 6, Blue 1 & 2 plus lakes
Over 40 ingredients including modified food starch and tapioca dextrin
Natural AND artificial flavors plus added caffeine
Fruit purees are 2% or less — flavoring, not nutrition

Ingredients (15)

Sugar (moderate) — Added for sweetness, can contribute to calorie content.
Corn Syrup (caution) — Added sugar baked into the crust.
modified food starch (moderate) — Industrial thickener that gives the condensed texture; a processing marker.
Fruit Purees (peach, blackberry, strawberry, etc.) (safe) — Real fruit, but the lead one is only 2% and the rest are trace. Flavor accents, not a meaningful fruit serving.
Juice Concentrates (apple, plum, cherry, etc.) (moderate) — Stripped-down fruit sugar used as flavoring — essentially more sweetener with a fruit label.
SOY LECITHIN EMULSIFIER (moderate) — Emulsifier that keeps the oil and solids from separating. Common and low-risk, but a sign of engineering.
Natural and Artificial Flavors (caution) — Undisclosed lab flavoring - the artificial half signals engineering.
red 40 (avoid) — Artificial petroleum-derived dye with no purpose in a brown chocolate product; a decisive negative.
yellow 5 & 6 (avoid) — Azo dyes that require warning labels in the EU; here they impersonate fruit.
Blue 1 & 2 (concerning) — Synthetic colorants added purely for appearance, no benefit to your body.
Tapioca dextrin (moderate) — Starch-derived coating aid.
Citric / Malic / Phosphoric / Fumaric Acids (moderate) — Acidulants for tartness. Phosphoric acid in particular is hard on tooth enamel.
Confectioner's Glaze / Carnauba Wax / Beeswax (safe) — Shine coatings. Harmless but note confectioner's glaze (shellac) makes this not vegan.
Caffeine (moderate) — Mild stimulant, 43mg per serving. Fine in moderation but makes the drink mildly habit-forming.
Chocolate Liquor / Cocoa Butter / Cocoa Powder (safe) — Real cocoa for the chocolate-flavored beans, present in small amounts.