Frequently Asked Questions
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What Brands does Country Pure Foods manufacture?
We manufacture 100% fruit juice, fruit juice cocktails/drinks, plant-based milk, and water cups. The brand names include: Smooth-Frozen Sidekicks, Smooth-Frozen Sidekicks Celebrations, VBlend, Ardmore Farms, Fun, VitaMost, and Glacier Valley.
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How do SideKicks Credit towards a School reimbursable lunch program?
SideKicks flavors SourCherry-Lemon, Kiwi-Strawberry, BlueRaspberry-Lemon, Strawberry-Mango, Orange-Cream and Strawberry-Cream are 100% fruit and credit as a half-cup fruit in a reimbursable lunch. SideKicks flavors Cherry Smooth ‘n Good and Berry Best are 100% vegetable and fruit juice and credits as an “Additional” vegetable. SideKicks flavors Sunbelievable and Tropicool are 100% vegetable juice and credits as a Red/Orange vegetable. All SideKicks contain no added sugar and qualify for Smart Snacks.
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Can SideKicks be sold a la carte under the USDA’s Smart Snack rule?
Yes, Smooth-Frozen SideKicks meet the requirements of the Smart Snacks rule for all grade levels.
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Do SideKicks contain any red dyes or other dyes for color?
There are no red dyes in any of the flavors. The SourCherry-Lemon and Strawberry-Mango flavors have no artificial colors at all. The BlueRaspberry-Lemon and Kiwi-Strawberry have FDA-approved blue and yellow dyes. We are working hard to eliminate dyes wherever we can.
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What is the shelf-life of juice produced by Country Pure Foods?
Our shelf-life and handling information is available for each product. Visit a product page and click on ‘Product Fact Sheet PDF’ to find the product’s shelf-life information.
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How do I read the code on products?
The coding format used is determined by the product and package type. Our refrigerated portion juice is coded with a “best by” date (i.e. DEC 31 2009 E). This date represents the date that the product should be consumed. The alpha or numeric character following the date represents the manufacturing plant location and stock information.
Our frozen portion juice uses a Julian Code (N3659A1). A Julian code is used on frozen products because we do not know the date the product is thawed by the customer; this date code will inform the customer of the date the product was manufactured. See below, to learn how to read a Julian Code.
Example production code: E 2769D2 20:59 L2
1.) Plant designation
D = DeLand, FL
E = Ellington, CT
N = Akron, OH
H = Houston, TX
2.) 276 = Julian calendar date, October 3rd
3.) 9 = Year (last digit), 2019
4.) D2 = Filler code and shift #
5.) 20:59 = Time of production
6.) L2 = Coder line number
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What is the difference between juice and juice cocktails?
A “juice” must be 100% pure juice with no added sugars. Some juices may be fortified with Vitamin A, C, E or Calcium and some may contain pulp. A “juice cocktail” is any juice that is less than 100% juice and may contain added sugars or flavors.
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Is my juice pasteurized?
Yes, all Country Pure Food juices are pasteurized.
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Where can I buy your products?
Most of our products are sold through commercial food service distributors and select retailers. Click here to learn where you can purchase.
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Are the products I purchase Kosher approved?
Yes. All our foodservice products, except for grape juice, grape drink, 100% fruit juice blend, are kosher certified under the Orthodox supervision of the Rabbinical Council of New England. Look for the KVH emblem on our foodservice products.
All of our retail juices and plant-based beverages are also kosher certified OU Pareve.
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Are the products I purchase Gluten-Free?
Yes. Our products are gluten-free.
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Who do I call if I have a comment or questions or require additional information?
You can contact our Customer Service department by phone at 1-877-945-8423, or filling out our Customer Service contact form.