Organisers serving a mixed audience
Choose portions that can be handed out in their original packs, and collect dietary requirements before deciding what to offer. No single fruit snack should be assumed suitable for every attendee.
Who are you catering for?
The useful distinction is not simply how many delegates are attending, but whether everyone can identify the contents of the portion they take.
Organisers seeking an option without nuts
Look for a separately identified fruit snack rather than making a fruit-and-nut mix the default. Check the ingredient list and any precautionary allergen statement on the packs actually supplied.
Organisers planning a scheduled food break
If dried fruit is part of the refreshments, consider serving it with a meal or scheduled food break. The NHS advises eating dried fruit at mealtimes rather than between meals because of tooth-decay risk.
What should you check before ordering?
Choose the serving format and check its label before comparing pack counts: a raisin box, a fruit roll and a fruit-and-nut pot serve different briefs.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Individual portions | Check whether each unit is sealed or boxed. Count the units in a multipack and note their individual weights. | I need delegates to take a portion from a self-service table without decanting loose fruit. |
| Allergen information | Read the current ingredients and precautionary allergen statement for each variant. Keep original labels accessible and identify nut-containing choices separately. | Attendees need to be able to check the exact snack offered; a fruit-only or vegan description is not enough for someone managing an allergy. |
| Portion size | Compare the weight of each unit, not just the multipack weight. The NHS says 30g of dried fruit counts as one 5 A Day portion; do not automatically apply that description to a smaller raisin box or a fruit roll. | A small box may suit a refreshment break, while I may want a conventional 30g dried-fruit pack if that portion is the plan. |
| Snack type | Distinguish dried-fruit pieces from fruit rolls, gummies and mixes. Check whether a mixed product contains nuts or other ingredients relevant to your brief. | If the brief calls for dried fruit, I do not want to substitute a gummy unnoticed. A nut mix needs its own clearly identified place. |
| Serving time | Decide whether dried fruit will be offered with a meal or scheduled food break. The NHS advises mealtime consumption rather than between-meal snacking because of tooth-decay risk. | I can place dried fruit within a planned food break instead of leaving it out for all-day grazing. |
Common catering mistakes
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Assuming fruit-only means suitable for every allergy
Tesco Snack Pack Mango lists sulphur dioxide and warns that it may contain peanuts, nuts, sesame seeds and soya. The product name alone cannot settle an attendee’s allergy question.
Check the supplied pack’s ingredients and precautionary statement, and keep its label available when the snack is served.
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Putting a nut mix in the general snack bowl
Fruit-and-nut products can contain tree nuts and carry warnings for other allergens. Decanting them also separates the food from the packaging delegates need to read.
Keep nut-containing packs in a clearly identified, separate offering and retain a fruit-only choice in its original packaging.
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Calling every small pack a full dried-fruit portion
The NHS uses 30g for a dried-fruit portion that counts towards 5 A Day. M&S Taste Buds raisin boxes contain 14g per box, while BEAR Raspberry Fruit Yoyos are 20g fruit-roll packs.
Describe each unit by its actual weight and format rather than applying the 30g dried-fruit description to every pack.
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Checking only one flavour in a variety pack
Mixed snack assortments can contain flavours with different ingredients and allergen information. Whitworths says an unavailable item in its SHOTS Variety Pack may be replaced with another item.
If consistent allergen information matters, check every flavour and the assortment actually delivered before setting out the packs.
Brands and retailer ranges to compare
These examples illustrate pack formats; compare the current label of the particular product you intend to serve, not a brand name alone.
Whitworths
Its 1DERS Fruit Variety Pack offers conventional dried fruit in five 30g packs: two mango and three apricot.
- The individual weights make it straightforward to plan one pack per delegate.
- The 1DERS ingredient information includes sulphites, and Whitworths warns that some stones may remain. Check labels across the different flavours in a SHOTS assortment.
Tesco
Its own-label examples include a 35g mango snack pack and a separate 55g fruit-and-nut snack pot.
- The two formats allow a single-fruit choice and an explicitly nut-inclusive choice to be considered separately.
- Tesco lists sulphur dioxide and precautionary allergen warnings for the mango; the fruit-and-nut pot contains almonds and cashews.
Sainsbury’s
Its snacking-fruit range lists Mini Snack Raisins in a 12 × 14g format alongside individually wrapped fruit snacks.
- The raisin boxes offer a small, separately portioned format.
- Check the particular product’s weight, ingredients and label rather than treating the whole snacking-fruit range as interchangeable.
M&S
Taste Buds Raisin Snack Boxes provide ten boxes in a 140g multipack, or 14g per box.
- Boxes can be set out as individual small refreshments.
- The separate M&S Fruit and Nuts product contains cashews, pecans and pistachios; it should not be treated as the same sort of choice as a raisin box.
BEAR
Raspberry Fruit Yoyos provide five individually wrapped 20g fruit-roll packs.
- Individual wrappers keep the fruit rolls identified when they are handed out.
- A fruit roll is not the same format as conventional dried-fruit pieces; check its own label before making portion or allergen statements.
Joybuy fruit-snack options
These options cover individually portioned fruit rolls, a small freeze-dried mango pack and fruit-based gummies. Check which format fits your catering brief: they are not three equivalent portions of conventional dried fruit.
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BEAR Raspberry Yoyo 5 × 20g
For individually portioned fruit-roll refreshments, this multipack contains five 20g packs. Fruit rolls are a different format from conventional dried-fruit pieces; check the current ingredients and allergen label before serving.
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Frula Freeze Dried Fruits Mango 10g
For a small, single-fruit option, this is a 10g freeze-dried mango pack. Plan one unit per intended serving and check its current label; do not describe 10g as the NHS’s general 30g dried-fruit portion.
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The Fruit Factory Mixed Fruit Stars, 5 packs
For a separately identified fruit-based sweet option, this product comes in five packs. It is a gummy snack rather than conventional dried fruit; confirm the pack weight, ingredients and allergen information before using it for a catering brief.
Conference snack questions
Do conference caterers need to provide allergen information for dried-fruit snacks?
Yes. GOV.UK and the Food Standards Agency say retail and catering food businesses must provide allergen information; Food Standards Scotland also says food businesses must tell consumers when food contains any of the 14 regulated allergens. Keep the supplied packs and their current ingredient information available rather than making an unsupported claim about a snack’s suitability.
Can a fruit-and-nut mix be the only fruit snack?
Do not make it the only choice when attendees’ dietary requirements are unknown. Tesco’s Fruit & Nut Snack Pot contains almonds and cashews and carries warnings for other allergens; identify nut-containing packs separately and provide a fruit-only alternative whose label attendees can check.
Does every grab bag count as one dried-fruit portion?
No. The NHS says 30g of dried fruit counts as one 5 A Day portion. Check each unit’s actual weight and format: a 14g raisin box or 20g fruit roll should not automatically be described using that general 30g dried-fruit measure.
Should dried fruit stay on the table for all-day snacking?
Consider putting it out with a scheduled meal or food break instead. The NHS advises eating dried fruit at mealtimes rather than between meals to reduce tooth-decay risk.
How should sealed packs be kept before the event?
Follow the storage instructions on the packs supplied. Keep the original packaging with each product so delegates can check its ingredients and allergen information when it is served.