These bars come five per box. They look rather like a large Fig Newton, with a fruit center, though they aren't as sweet and chewy as that cookie.This product fills me up as a quick breakfast. It has a decent taste. The consistency is unlike a protein bar, which is usually quite thick and chewy. These bars resemble a biscuit more than a typical meal bar in texture, not crunchy, not chewy, somewhere in between. In spite of 17 grams of sugar, it does not taste very sweet, at least to me as a person with a "sweet tooth." The not-too-sweet flavor, though, might be a plus to people who don't like a "sickly-sweet" meal bar.
This breakfast bar has very little protein in it, so it is not by any stretch a "protein bar." However, its creators do not advertise it as such. They do claim that it is a "good source of fiber, but it has only 3 grams of fiber. It has 30 total grams of carbohydrates and, as stated above, 17 of that is sugars. The bar claims to be "low fat," and that it true. There are only 2 grams of fat, and no trans fats.
Basically, I would describe this bar as the equivalent of eating a cup of gluten-free cereal, but it is more convenient than cereal for someone on the go.
At 1.42 ounce (40 gm), these breakfast bars are about average in size for a meal bar these days, around the weight/density of an average candy bar.
Most of the ingredients are fairly healthy, as processed food goes, and the price is reasonable, approximately $1.00 per bar in most venues, which is cheaper than many protein bars.
I liked this bar, but I am not wild about it, and several of the ingredients (see below) give me pause as to how unhealthy they are.
Ingredients listed on box I bought:
Cherry filling (sugar, apple powder [calcium stearate], white grape juice concentrate, glycerin, cherries [may contain pits], water, corn starch, canola oil, citric acid, sodium alginate, carrot and black currant juice, malic acid, dicalcium phosphate, dried citrus pulp, sodium citrate, sodium hexametaphosphate, natural flavor, chick pea flour, potato starch, fructose, pear juice concentrate, raisin paste, inulin, canola oil, tapioca starch, white rice flour, water, sodium bicarbonate.
Ingredients for this productlisted on Glutino website--which is slightly different:
Ingredients: Cherry filling (sugar, glucose, apple powder [calcium stearate], white grape juice concentrate, water, cherries [may contain pits], glycerine, canola oil, citric acid, pectin, fruit and vegetable extract for color, sodium citrate, calcium chloride, flavor), chick pea flour, corn flour, fructose, pear juice concentrate, raisin paste, inulin, canola oil, tapioca starch, white rice flour, water, cinnamon, sodium bicarbonate.
Below is an analysis of some of the ingredients listed above that may be unfamiliar to many consumers:
Calcium stearate: This is a white powdery substance which has been a food additive in the U.S. since 1924. It is also used in cosmetics. It reduces caking and increases the flow rate of any substance it is added to. Almost all calcium sterate in the U.S. is derived from plant oils such as palm oil or coconut oil, but occasionally beef tallow is used, meaning any food containing it cannot be 100% guaranteed to be vegetarian/vegan.
Glycerin: Also known as glycerine or glycerol, it is used in commercial foods and beverages to impart moisture, provide sweetness, and emulsify and preserve food. Glycerine can be made from food-grade fats and oils or petroleum products. Neither food, cosmetic nor pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. are required to reveal the source of the glycerin they use.
Citric acid: This is a natural acid found in many fruits which is a safe preservative.
Sodium alginate: This is a flavorless gum extracted from the cell walls of brown algae which is used in processed foods to increase viscosity and as an emulsifier, particularly in gel-like foods. Sodium alginate is also used in medicine to chelate radioactive toxins from the body.
Malic acid: A natural acid derived from fruits which is a safe preservative. In therapeutic doses (much more than is in this breakfast bar), malic acid increases muscle performance by reducing fatigue, and it helps energy production by increasing the cells' production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It has many other health benefits as well. It has been used to treat fibromyalgia, a condition of intense pain in muscles and tendons. It can help chelate (remove) toxic heavy metals from the body such as mercury, aluminum and lead. It helps reduce dry mouth (a side effect of many prescription medications) by helping the body to produce saliva.
Dicalcium phosphate: A dietary supplement created by a reactive combination of calcium oxide and phosphoric acid. In the food industry, it is often added to cereal and grain products as a supplement to the diet of calcium and phosphorus.
Sodium citrate: This is used in food products as an emulsifier and refers to any one of the three sodium salts of citric acid, and most commonly the third one: monosodium citrate, disodium citrate, and trisodium citrate. Sodium citrate is metabolized to sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), thus acting as a systemic alkalizer. This could actually balance out the systemic acidity caused by many of the other ingredients in this bar, such as the sweeteners.
Sodium hexametaphosphate: This chemical is used to thicken, emulsify and texturize a variety of foods. The phosphorus in this food additive is used to prevent the deterioration of food and cosmetics by preventing the corrosion (rust) of metallic materials used in packaging (each of these breakfast bars is individually wrapped in what looks like an aluminum-foil type covering). Since it can sometimes be contaminated with lead, its usage on a food product is a potential concern.
Natural flavor: The definition of natural flavor under the Code of Federal Regulations is: "The essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional" (21CFR101.22). That essentially means that natural flavor is derived from a real food, but the process by which it is derived is unexplained and there is no way to know how safe or healthy a natural flavoring is.
Inulin: This is a starch that occurs naturally in a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs such as onions, wheat, asparagus, bananas, leeks and artichokes. The inulin created for commercial use is usually derived from chicory roots. It is used as a food additive to improve taste. It is also used in medicine in therapeutic doses to lower blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, for weight loss, and to prevent constipation. Similar to fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin cannot be digested or absorbed in the stomach, so it does not raise blood sugar. It promotes bowel health because of its prebiotic effect in the bowels, that is, it encourages the growth of healthy bowel bacteria which use inulin and FOS to grow. FOS is similar but not identical to inulin. They have a different chemical structure. FOS chains of molecules are shorter than inulin chains.
Sodium bicarbonate: Baking soda.
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