Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Robert Irvine's Protein bar ultra-processed?

Protein bars Sold in Canada

Pack of Robert Irvine's Protein 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:

  • 31 ingredients
  • 3 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

whey protein isolate, whey protein, soy protein isolate, peanuts, sugar, palm kernel oil, nonfat dry milk, cocoa, fructose, corn syrup, natural flavor, salt, soy lecithin, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, ascorbic acid, alpha tocopherol acetate, niacinamide, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, vitamin A palmitate, beta-carotene, vitamins, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, biotin, potassium iodide

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , potassium iodide

As written on the pack

whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, peanuts, sugar, palm kernel oil, nonfat dry milk, cocoa, fructose, corn syrup, natural flavor, salt, soy lecithin, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, ascorbic acid, alpha tocopherol acetate, niacinamide, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, vitamin A palmitate, beta-carotene, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, biotin, potassium iodide

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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
3 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • 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 187th. 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 0817719021925, last edited 22 August 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.