Chocolate dipped anything

No - but it is super easy to do yourself and that way you guarantee the freshness of the fruit.

and you can avoid excessive ingredients

"Contains: Pecans"

What? It's strawberry and chocolate! haha

Thank you for the illustration for why I NEVER shop at Kroger!

I've seen choc-dipped strawbs in the pastry case at the Fresh Market (Westgate). I thought there was a Godiva chocolate place at Westfield Franklin Park that used to have a tray of dipped fruits.

As for the pecans listed on Kroger's box: I did some research on this issue a few years ago. I spoke to a bakery manager in a Sylvania grocery store. He said they just print out whatever computer-generated label seems best for their "fresh-baked" bread, muffins, cookies, etc. He claimed they only used 100% fresh and natural ingredients, and seemed unaware (and unconcerned) that the food label directly contradicted what he was saying.

Also, some people have serious nut allergies and they would like to avoid getting sick ... all the more reson for bakery managers to wonder if their packaging is appealing to customers, or just driving them away :)

I guess I don't see what the fuss is over the long list of ingredients on the Kroger label.

It looks like the excess ingredients are due to them specifically listing the components of the chocolate. Not because they added all those extra things TO the chocolate and strawberries.

If you actually look at the label, it reads Strawberries, White Chocolate (detailed ingredients), Semi-Sweet Dipping Chocolate (detailed ingredients), Dark Chocolate (detailed ingredients), Sprinkles, Pecans.

if the ingredient list after White Chocolate read "sugar, cocoa butter, and milk solids", I'd be fine with it. They went an extra mile or two, actually 9.

I'm no food engineer, nor organic hippie tofu/wheatgrass lover, but I always wonder why (a) there needs to be some much artificial crap in foods that can be made fairly simply and (b) why the foods that have a simple ingredient list are so much more expensive.

Ice cream is my weakness, but you have to pay the extra dollar to get something that is made out of only milk, cream, sugar, egg, flavor (vanilla, milk chocolate, etc.). Haagen-Dazs has a brand called "5", many stores have an organic 1/2 gallon or 2, and most Breyers ice cream is all natural (avoiding the reduced fat/no fat/no sugar added varieties). Other than that, its pretty scary to read the long ingredient list of Edys, Blue Bunny, and worst of all usually--the store brand. Yikes.

Aren't the additional chemicals more expensive than just mixing the natural ingredients? I don't get it.

If you sell something like that you HAVE to list every last thing that's in there using the manufacturers ingredients. I made some labels for a local vending company and by law you have to include everything. Even something simple like tutkey and cheese sandwich, you have to list all the ingredients on the bread and the cheese and any condiments you might put on it.

INGREDIENTS:
BREAD (ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, BARLEY MALT, NIACIN, IRON, THAIMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WATER, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: YEAST, SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, WHEAT GLUTEN, DOUGH CONDITIONERS (SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, MONOGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM PEROXIDE), CARMEL COLOR, CALCIUM PROPIONATE (MOLD INHIBITOR), CORN STARCH, YEAST NUTRIENTS (CALCIUM SULFATE, AMMONIUM CHLORIDE).

TURKEY (TURKEY, WATER, ISOLATED SOY PROTEIN, SALT, SUGAR, SODIUM PHOSHPATE).

AMERICAN CHEESE (MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES, ANNATO, VEGETABLE COLOR), WATER, CREAM, SODIUM CITRATE, COLOR ADDED, SALT, SORBIC ACID ADDED AS A PRESERVATIVE, AND SOY LECITHIN (NON-STICKING AGENT).

The condiments were in a separate package and didn't need to be listed on the label. Now that is plain wheat bread, sliced turkey from Meijer's deli, and American cheese from GFS.