How to read an energy bar's nutrition label

Read an energy bar label in this order: serving size first, then energy, sugars, protein, fibre, fat and salt, and finally the ingredient list. Compare bars with each other per 100 g, and use the per bar column to see what you actually eat. This article shows you how to read a label so you can choose for yourself. It does not tell you what to eat.

Start with the serving size

The first number to find is not energy but the serving size, the amount the table is describing. Many labels show two columns: per 100 g and per serving. If one bar counts as one serving, both columns are easy to follow. If the maker lists one bar as two servings, every figure looks half as large. Nothing about that breaks the rules, but the reader needs to know so they can multiply back.

We find the per 100 g column most useful for comparing, because one bar may weigh more than another. The per bar column is most useful for deciding, because you eat a bar, not 100 g.

Five numbers worth comparing

After the serving size we read five lines in order:

• Energy, shown in kcal or kJ. For an energy bar this is the reason the product exists, so read it alongside a question: when am I eating this, before exercise or in the middle of a working afternoon.
• Sugars. Most labels show total sugars, and some also show added sugars, meaning sugar put in on top of what the ingredients already contain. A bar built on dates or dried cranberries carries a fair amount of natural sugar, so the total sugars figure has to be read together with the ingredient list.
• Protein. This is the first number people buying a protein bar look at. In an energy bar protein is usually lower and not the point, so do not compare the two kinds of bar against each other.
• Fibre. This figure usually comes from the oats, nuts or dried fruit in the recipe. If fibre is high and none of those appear in the ingredient list, look for where the fibre was added from.
• Fat and saturated fat. Cashews, peanuts and cacao all bring natural fat. What matters is which ingredient the saturated fat comes from, the nuts or the coating.

Salt, listed as sodium or salt, is usually low in a sweet bar and higher in a savoury one. Read it quickly, but read it.

The ingredient list says more than the numbers

The numbers tell you how much. The ingredient list tells you what. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, so the first three make up most of the bar. A bar with cashews first and a bar with syrup first can show the same energy figure and still be two very different products.

In the ingredient list we read three things closely. Sugars under other names: syrup, honey, invert sugar, concentrated fruit juice. Allergens, usually printed in bold: peanuts, cashews, milk, oats that may contain gluten, soy. And the may contain line, which means the facility handles that allergen on the same line.

What to skip

The front of the pack belongs to the brand, not to the data. Words such as natural, healthy or low sugar have no single definition across markets. Do not argue with the front. Turn the pack over.

Percentages of daily intake are also not worth comparing between countries, because each market uses a different reference. The grams column is the steadiest thing to compare.

How we build the label for a PLAY Nutrition bar

When a PLAY Nutrition energy bar moves from trial sample to printed pack, the nutrition table is built in three steps. First we calculate from the recipe: how much each ingredient, such as oats, cashews, cacao or cranberries, contributes to the total. Then a sample from the trial batch is sent for laboratory testing so the calculated figures can be checked. Finally we check every line on the packaging artwork against the test results and against the labelling rules of the market the pack is intended for.

We only print what we can support. If a figure has not been tested, it does not go on the pack. And we do not write health promises anywhere on the wrapper, because the table of numbers is already the most honest statement we have.

If you are a buyer who needs the spec sheet and test results for a specific product, get in touch and we will send the documents with samples. If you would enjoy building a nutrition table that is right down to the last line, have a look at our Careers page.