Is Quest Birthday Cake Protein Bar ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 23 ingredients
- 6 additives
Less processed protein bars
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
protein blend (milk protein isolate (ultra-processing marker), whey protein isolate (ultra-processing marker)), soluble corn fiber (ultra-processing marker), erythritol (ultra-processing marker), water, palm kernel oil, almonds, natural flavors (ultra-processing marker), sodium caseinate, contains less than 2% of the following (sea salt (processing marker)), gum arabic (ultra-processing marker), spirulina extract (color (ultra-processing marker)), red cabbage (color (ultra-processing marker)), turmeric extract (ultra-processing marker) (color (ultra-processing marker)), radish (color (ultra-processing marker)), sucralose (ultra-processing marker), sunflower lecithin (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E100 Curcumin , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E414 Acacia gum , E955 Sucralose , E968 Erythritol
As written on the pack
protein blend (milk protein isolate, whey protein isolate), soluble corn fiber, erythritol, water, palm kernel oil, almonds, natural flavors, sodium caseinate, contains less than 2% of the following: sea salt, gum arabic, spirulina extract (color), red cabbage extract (color), turmeric extract (color), radish extract (color), sucralose, sunflower 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.
- E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of 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.
- E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
- E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
- E968 Erythritol Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.
- Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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- Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
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.
- Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
- Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
1 ingredient 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.
Among 426 protein bars
From least to most processed, this one ranks 348th. 93% of the protein bars here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0888849005956, last edited 14 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.