Malic Acid: What it is and why we don’t use it

Have you heard of malic acid? 

You’ve probably seen malic acid as an ingredient listed on the back of food products at least once in your life. In fact, chances are that something in your fridge or shelf has malic acid in it right now. But what exactly is malic acid, and why does it seem to be an added ingredient in so much of what we consume? 

Most importantly, why do we intentionally choose not to use malic acid in any DeeBee’s Organics products? 

What is Malic Acid?

In its most natural state, malic acid (or ‘L-Malic’) is a four-carbon dicarboxylic acid found in fruit like apples and grapes. However, the malic acid you see listed as an ingredient in food at the store isn’t always this straight-from-the-fruit ingredient. According to The Encyclopedia of Food Chemistry, malic acid is an often chemically-synthesized additive (when not found in fruit) that adds extra tartness to your food - this means that it ‘tricks’ your taste buds into perceiving more flavor than there actually is. 

Malic acid is used often in food production to lower ingredient costs while artificially boosting flavor, stabilizing color, and regulating acidity. While this does make for a seemingly juicy product, foods using malic acid are more processed than foods that don’t.

Why We Don't Use Malic Acid

As a mom-owned food company, we understand the importance of organically-derived ingredients and clean label food for growing children! We take every single ingredient in our SuperFruit Freezie Pops very seriously by ensuring that they are not only delicious, but also free from all synthesized chemical additives.

Choosing not to use malic acid in our products isn’t just a choice - it’s an opportunity to show the world what we stand for when it comes to ingredients with integrity.

What Do We Use Instead?

When we made the decision to not use any chemically-synthesized flavors, we knew that we had to create treats bursting with naturally-derived flavors instead. By using organic fruit picked at the peak of ripeness (from non-GMO seeds!), we don’t need to use chemically synthesized additives or sacrifice good taste! Did you know that we also deliver beyond USDA organic requirements by using no synthetically derived flavors whatsoever? Read more about our organic promise here.

Ready to add more organic treats to your life? Don’t forget to stock up on both our Classic and Tropical SuperFruit Freezie Pops