Cancer Council WA is encouraging shoppers to check nutrition labels before tossing muesli bars into their shopping trolleys, after a new review found many contain sugar levels similar to confectionery.
Schools Nutrition Senior Coordinator Mikala Atkinson said with so many varieties on supermarket shelves, including a growing number of high-protein options, it can be hard to know which bars are actually healthy.
“Cancer Council WA audited 80 muesli bars from major supermarkets to assess their sugar, saturated fat, sodium and fibre content,” Ms Atkinson said. “We wanted to help shoppers know which muesli bars to choose and which to lose.”
The review looked at a wide range of products, including traditional muesli bars, protein bars, oat bars, cereal bars, nut bars and fruit-filled bars.
According to Ms Atkinson, a good muesli bar should contain rolled oats, dried fruit, nuts or seeds, and less than 15 grams of sugar.
“Brands such as Carman’s Original Fruit Free Muesli Bars and Hillcrest Fruit Free Premium Muesli Barsperformed well nutritionally,” she said. “Nut-free options like Mother Earth Chewy Berry Smoothie and Uncle Tobys Chewy Apricot Bars also rated well.”
However, the audit revealed that more than four in five snack bars contained over 15 per cent sugar, with some reaching 30 to 40 per cent.
“That’s about the same amount of sugar you’d find in a biscuit,” Ms Atkinson said.
Bars containing chocolate were among the worst offenders.
“Whether chocolate coated, chocolate flavoured or packed with chocolate chips, these bars consistently had higher sugar and saturated fat levels,” she said. “Some even had more chocolate than ready-made choc chip biscuits.”
Examples included Hillcrest Protein Oat Bars Dark Choc and Nutri Grain Original Bars, both at 36 per cent sugar, while LCMs Kaleidos topped the list at 40 per cent sugar.
“The healthiest choice is to keep it simple,” Ms Atkinson said. “Look for bars made with oats, nuts, seeds and dried fruit—they provide fibre and sustained energy.”