Is it ultra-processed?
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Is MET-Rx Big 100 Super Cookie Crunch Meal Replacement Bar ultra-processed?

Protein bars Sold in the United States

Pack of MET-Rx Big 100 Super Cookie Crunch Meal Replacement Bar

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 68 ingredients
  • 6 additives

Less processed protein bars

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Soy cocoa crisps (soy protein isolate, cocoa, tapioca starch), vanilla cream topping (corn syrup, milk protein isolate, fractionated palm kernel oil, natural flavors, glycerin, canola oil (with tocopherols added to protect flavor), fractionated palm oil, soy lecithin), corn syrup, chocolate coating (sugar, fractionated palm kernel oil, cocoa powder, whey powder, nonfat milk powder, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor), milk chocolate drops (sugar, whole milk powder, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor), canola oil (with tocopherols added to protect flavor), cocoa, metamyosyn v100 protein blend (whey protein isolate, milk protein isolate, whey protein, egg white, l-glutamine), crystalline fructose, glycerin, water, natural flavors, fractionated palm oil, fructooligosaccharides, vitamin and mineral blend (tricalcium phosphate, ascorbic acid, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate, niacinamide, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin a palmitate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid, biotin, potassium iodide, cyanocobalamin), peanut flour, salt, dipotassium phosphate, xanthan gum, almond butter, soy lecithin

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E340 Potassium phosphates , E340ii Dipotassium phosphate , E415 Xanthan gum , E422 Glycerol

As written on the pack

Soy cocoa crisps (soy protein isolate, cocoa [processed with alkali], tapioca starch), vanilla cream topping (corn syrup, milk protein isolate, fractionated palm kernel oil, natural flavors, glycerin, canola oil (with tocopherols added to protect flavor), fractionated palm oil, soy lecithin), corn syrup, chocolate flavored coating (sugar, fractionated palm kernel oil, cocoa powder, whey powder, nonfat milk powder, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor), milk chocolate drops (sugar, whole milk powder, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor), canola oil (with tocopherols added to protect flavor), cocoa (processed with alkali), metamyosyn v100 protein blend (whey protein isolate, milk protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, dried egg white, l-glutamine), crystalline fructose, glycerin, water, natural flavors, fractionated palm oil, fructooligosaccharides, vitamin and mineral blend (tricalcium phosphate, ascorbic acid, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate, niacinamide, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin a palmitate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid, biotin, potassium iodide, cyanocobalamin), peanut flour, salt, dipotassium phosphate, xanthan gum, almond butter, soy lecithin.

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
  • Cocoa An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
6 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 426 protein bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 350th. 93% of the protein bars here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 426 protein bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0786560153126, last edited 24 September 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.