There’s Nothing Healthy About Health Bars – Have You Been Eating This Blacklisted Brand?

Foods that are labelled “healthy” aren’t always what they appear to be. The same goes for labels like “All-Natural” or “Trans Fat Free.” The fact is, marketers have quickly realized they can take advantage of the growing demand for healthy, natural food, leaving consumers to figure out what’s really healthy and what’s just clever advertising.

Yet, in an odd change of pace the FDA has recently decided to actually help consumers with determining what’s healthy. In particular, they have lashed out at the makers of Kind Bars for misleading consumers.

A Not So Healthy Snack Bar?

The label reads that Kind Bars are “healthy and tasty,” but the FDA says the bar’s nutritional information doesn’t back up such claims. The bars contain 3.5 grams of saturated fat, while FDA regulations state that they would need to contain less than 1 gram to be worthy of the “healthy” label.

The FDA also insists that the bars are not a good source of fiber, can’t claim to have “no trans fats” and can’t use the term “plus” when referring to their protein bars, because they don’t contain enough protein.

In a written letter, the FDA has told Kind to change their labels immediately to comply with the standards, and has threatened to take the bars off the shelves or the company to court if they don’t change the wording in a timely manner.

But Aren’t They Kind of Healthy?

Kind has enjoyed tremendous success over the past couple years, selling over 450 million bars in 2014 alone, three times more than they did in 2012. Much of that success has come as a result of their “healthy” reputation, as people are demanding healthier snacks with better ingredients.

A spokesman for the company has decided to take a stand against the FDA’s dated standards, claiming that nuts “contain nutritious fats” and that “there is an overwhelming body of scientific evidence supporting that nuts are wholesome, nutritious and healthful.” Of course, his paycheck also depends on him saying so.

Not Really

While the FDA is generally behind the times, in this instance they’re probably right.

Many different kinds of nuts are in fact great for your health, but you would be better off eating them out of your hand, rather than out of a wrapper. Eating nuts by themselves or with some fruit is a far better option than a “Fruit and Nut” Bar.

The Kind bars are definitely better than chocolate bars, and contain less sugar and fewer additives than other “health” or “protein” bars, but there’s really no such thing as a healthy snack bar. Unless you make them at home with ingredients you know are good.

The nuts themselves might not be bad, though you can definitely eat too many, but the bars also contain added sugar, preservatives, and are far more processed than they need to be. You don’t need 9 grams of sugar with your nuts.

Does the FDA Have Nothing Better to Do?

That said, it’s still strange that the FDA has decided to devote time and energy to making sure Kind bars don’t deceive consumers. There are hundreds of other companies doing far worse things. Big Pharma and Big Food continue to sell drugs and food that are not only not good, but are actually bad.

Why the FDA has decided to concern itself with “healthy and tasty” bars is not entirely clear. You’d think they might take aim at the countless carcinogenic ingredients in processed foods, or the false claims made by the dairy industry about milk, or GMO foods, or soy. There’s no shortage of good targets. A few too many fats in a nut bar seems like small potatoes.

Kind Bars Getting Any Kinder?

As a result of the letter, Kind is quickly falling in line and will surely changes the misleading labels. But what won’t change is the culture of marketing around health food. While the FDA has won this one small battle, in general, false claims about health and nutrition will continue to remain.

Sadly, the FDA is simply nowhere near diligent enough to really protect consumers or give them peace of mind. They will always be behind food producers creating new chemicals, new dyes, new methods, and new labels.

The only way to really make sure you’re eating foods that are truly healthy, is to educate yourself about ingredients and to carefully read the labels on your food. Or even better, when possible you should buy foods that don’t have ingredients at all, like fresh, organic produce.

Just like with Kind bars. If you just eat real nuts and real fruit, there’s no need to worry about the misleading labels. And just in case, the FDA has this one covered.