Aldi's Simply Nature Spinach Bites Actually Come From This Big Frozen Food Brand

If you're a regular shopper at Aldi, you likely recognize the Simply Nature logo. It's one of Aldi's many store brands and it shows up on a host of Aldi's groceries from mixed greens to ground beef. For all the debates about Aldi dupes that are better or worse than name brands, there are plenty of Simply Nature products which don't feel especially different. It's not always easy to determine where grocery chains source their store brand products from, but plenty of times store brands and name brands share the same manufacturer. Recently, it came out that some of Aldi's spinach products come from the private brand Dr. Praeger's.

The way this information came to light isn't pretty: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a major recall for Aldi's Simply Nature Spinach Bites, a frozen children's snack made with spinach that are sold in the shape of dinosaurs. The recall was issued after a recent batch of the product sold in Pennsylvania and Maryland was flagged as being potentially contaminated with rodent hair (if you've recently bought some, go check the package for the lot number "G25CF-02B"). Interestingly, the FDA report noted that the recall was voluntarily initiated by Dr. Praeger's Sensible Foods, revealing the frozen food brand as being the Simply Nature spinach snack supplier.

If you're unfamiliar with Dr. Praeger's, it's a company which has been selling veggie patties, kids' foods, and frozen meals in grocery stores for nearly 30 years. It was founded by heart surgeons who were ostensibly focused on providing healthier options in the frozen food aisle. The name comes from its founder who was an actual heart surgeon, Dr. Peter Praeger. Relevant here is that Dr. Praeger's sells a nearly identical line of frozen spinach snacks in the shape of dinosaurs known as Spinach Littles, although the recall specified the spinach snacks sold under Aldi's Simply Nature brand. No Spinach Littles appear to have been affected. Beyond the brand name difference, Spinach Littles and Spinach Bites appear to have nearly identical ingredients.

In general, Aldi is well known for placing a focus on in-store brands rather than private labels, claiming on its website that 90% of its products are from brands exclusive to Aldi. Those store-brand items are often cheaper, making them an easy way to save money on groceries, but the grocery chain's fans (and it has plenty) like to debate over where the store brands come from. Sometimes, it takes a huge Aldi food recall for information like this to be revealed; if you're an Aldi shopper, it's understandable to wish the info might come out under better circumstances.