Uncrustables is a packaged peanut butter and jelly sandwich brand sold by Smucker's. The company describes these sandwiches as having "Unstoppable Flavors" and "Endless Fun."
But what ingredients are in Uncrustables other than bread, peanut butter and jelly? Are there any unhealthy additives? Which flavor is the healthiest? And why was Smucker's sued over the protein content in Uncrustables?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Uncrustables based on clinical studies to give our take on whether or not this brand is a healthy choice.
We'll also give our pick for the healthiest Uncrustables flavor.
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in the Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwich flavor of Uncrustables are shown above.
There are some whole food ingredients in this sandwich that we consider to be healthy.
Unbleached whole wheat flour is rich in minerals like phosphorous and potassium according to the USDA.
Peanuts were described as a "functional food" in a medical review published in the Journal of Food Science and Technology. The study authors noted that peanuts contain "bioactive compounds...recognized for having disease preventive properties and...thought to promote longevity."
There are a number of additive ingredients in this product that we consider to be unhealthy.
Added sugars are included in the form of refined sugar, at a dose of 9 grams (g) per sandwich, and consuming added sugar in excess is associated with increased risk of diabetes and obesity, as we discussed in our article on is Dave's Killer Bread healthy.
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer that's clinically shown to cause whole-body inflammation in some individuals.
Hydrogenated vegetable oil intake is positively associated with coronary heart disease risk, according to a 2009 meta-study.
Potassium sorbate is a preservative that was described as "clearly seen to be genotoxic" to human cells in a 2010 clinical trial.
Overall, we do not consider Uncrustables to healthy due to the four additive ingredients described above.
This product also provides 10 g of sugar per serving and only 2 g of dietary fiber, which is a suboptimal ratio in our opinion.
Which Uncrustables Flavor is Healthiest?
There are six Uncrustables flavors at the time of publishing this article.
We consider the Reduced Sugar flavors (both Strawberry and Grape) to be healthier than the original Uncrustables.
These products contain only 5 g of added sugar per serving, which is 44% less than that in the Original formulations.
Even the Reduced Sugar flavors contain citric acid, potassium sorbate and hydrogenated vegetable oil at the time of publishing this article, so we don't recommend them overall, but we consider these products to be the best option for consumers planning to purchase Uncrustables.
Smucker's Sued over Protein Content
In 2021, J.M. Smucker Company was sued over allegations that the protein content in Uncrustables was misrepresented, according to Top Class Actions.
A plaintiff named Molly Brown alleged that the protein content in Uncrustables was overstated by 20% to 140%.
The above-linked article suggests that the plaintiff conducted testing to determine this discrepancy, but it's somewhat unclear and the test results aren't published.
A LexisNexis article claims that this case has since been dismissed.
Given that this lawsuit seems to have been dismissed, we don't believe there's anything for consumers to worry about in this case. Allegations remain allegations until proven.
