Eighty per cent of popular protein bars sold in supermarkets with Health Star Ratings are scored four or higher, an analysis of products available in Woolies, Aldi and Coles has found.

But experts have raised alarm that Australia’s controversial nutrition labelling system – which has a highest possible rating of five stars – is being “gamed” by protein bar companies to make the convenient snack appear healthier than it really is.

Jason Kovacic, Director and CEO of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, said that most protein bars were highly processed and not healthy.

He said ultra-processed foods were linked to obesity, type-2 diabetes and maybe even some types of cancer.

He feared the high ratings caused confusion about the healthiness of ultra-processed products.

“People think because something’s got a five-star rating, it’s really great and we can eat lots of it,” he said.

“But it’s still an ultra-processed food and is not healthy.”

In this week of Shopping Swaps we compared the nutrition and ingredients in 82 protein bars.

Protein bars have skyrocketed in popularity over the last 10 years and are marketed heavily as a way to fuel a lean, musclebound body before or after a gym session.

And it’s working – market intelligence company Euromonitor has forecast that the protein bar industry, currently worth $315m in Australia, will reach $374m by 2030.

But Mark Lawrence, Expert in Food Policy and Regulation and Professor of Ecological Nutrition at Deakin University, said the Health Star Ratings system was misleading people into believing that protein bars were a nutritious choice.

Out of 82 popular protein bars sold in supermarkets, 37 had the voluntary Health Star ratings.

Twenty-nine of those 37 bars that chose to participate in the Health Star system were given high scores of four stars or above.

“The Health Star system can be ‘gamed’ by manufacturers because they use chemical ingredients to replace sugars and fats in their products to avoid having their score reduced,”

Professor Lawrence said, adding this was especially relevant for protein bars.

“The ratings don’t consider if the food is ultra-processed or a healthy food … It just uses a crude algorithm to calculate based on a handful of nutrients that may or may not be in that food.”

“Manufacturers can also add protein ingredients and fibre powders to boost their ratings.”

Belinda Barton, Professor of Marketing at Bond University said the Health Star ratings were only useful when comparing foods within the same category (protein bar against other packaged food), not when comparing foods against all foods (protein bar against milk).

She said most people didn’t understand this and slammed it as confusing.

“Consumers trust that a five-star rating on one product means the same thing on another but it doesn’t,” she said.

A Department of Health spokesman said the taxpayer-funded Health Star rating system did not actually class foods as “healthy” or “unhealthy”.

He also defended the current system, noting it was only intended for comparing similar products.

“It does not take into account other real, claimed, or perceived health effects of ingredients, additives, processing methods or levels of processing,” he conceded, when asked about the Health Star rating limitations.

He said there was a maximum threshold for protein adding points which was reached when a product exceeded 50g of protein per 100g.

“Once that cap is reached, adding more protein makes no difference to the rating,” he said.

But if a bar has less than five positive attributes (which come from fibre, fruits, nuts, veg or legumes) it cannot gain any points for protein.

Although experts say we should just eat real protein, it’s OK to have it sometimes when we’re busy and starving.

So if you are going to buy them, these are the ones dietitians say are the best and worst picks.

PROTEIN:

Protein isn’t just protein – you need to pay attention to the kind each bar has.

Co-founder of Brain of a Dietitian Zoe Brain said companies often used collagen as part of a blend to inflate the protein content.

While it makes the content look impressive it does not help muscle growth as much as whey, soy or pea proteins.

“Bars that heavily rely on collagen to inflate the protein number are using more of a marketing tactic,” Ms Brain said.

Collagen or whey should be listed on the ingredients list – whatever comes first, there is more of.

As a guideline, you should be looking for at least 15-20g of protein in every bar.

Every bar analysed had 20g or more protein but some Musashi bars had collagen as the first protein in blends.

Musashi was contacted for comment.

Best: With a solid level of non-collagen protein per bar, Quest was a winner.

SUGAR:

There is almost a five-teaspoon difference in sugar content depending on the bar you pick.

Fewer than 5g of sugar per 100g was optimal but we needed to look at where the sugar came from, Ms Brain said.

Products with low sugar contents often used artificial sweeteners which were unnecessary and might cause some gut issues, she said.

For those with sensitivity, this can cause symptoms like bloating, cramps or diarrhoea.

It is better to check the sugar came from ingredients you can recognise, like dates, nuts or cocoa.

While the plant-based Greenback Hazelnut bar has the highest sugar content (20.9g per 100g) it is still a recommended pick.

This was because the sugar came from natural sources and the fibre content was high.

A spokesman for Greenback said 65 per cent of sugar was naturally occurring and sourced from dark chocolate, dates and chicory root fibre.

“Bars with lower sugar contents to Greenback, often do so at the expense of adding maltitol and artificial sweeteners – ingredients that can cause digestive issues like diarrhoea and bloating with many consumers,” he said.

“The high fibre content in each Greenback bar plays an important role in moderating the metabolic impact of sugar.”

Best: Quest Bar Choc Chip Cookie Dough.

While there were sweeteners added, they were only present in small amounts.

SATURATED FATS:

The worst bar has 18.3g of saturated fats per 100g – that’s the equivalent to more than two tablespoons of butter.

Dietitian Erika Hung said saturated fats increased our cholesterol levels.

“It’s important that we don’t have large amounts of them in our diet to keep our heart safe,” she said.

It’s best to find bars with fewer than 2g in the 100g column, Ms Brain said.

“If you can find a bar that has even less, it’s a win,” she said.

The Musashi Wafer Protein chocolate bar had the most saturated fat at 18.3g per 100g, making it the worst one you could buy.

It is best to keep saturated fats as low as possible.

Musashi was contacted for comment.

Best: The only protein bar meeting the under 2g saturated fats level was the Quest Protein Bar Choc Brownie.

It had 2g per 100g or about 1g per bar.

INGREDIENTS:

A product with more than five ingredients is classed as ultra-processed – and one protein bar had 56.

An extensive ingredients list was unnecessary, Ms Brain said.

The ‘natural’ or plant-based options won for her.

Muscle Nation Protein Custard birthday cake bar was the worst with a whopping 56 ingredients.

A spokesman for Muscle Nation said the large number of ingredients was due to the bar having six different layers.

“Each layer requires specific ingredients to achieve its purpose, whether for flavour, texture, or ensuring the bar maintains its high-protein, low-carb, and low-fat profile,” he said.

“It’s important to note that these are not fillers. Instead, they are functional components that allow us to replace calorie-dense ingredients like sugar and fat, much like how sugar-free drinks use sweeteners to help people stay within their calorie goals.”

Best: Greenback Plant Based Peanut Butter Protein Bar.

This is because it only has 14 ingredients in total.

Peanuts make up 26 per cent of the bar, while dark chocolate makes up another 18 per cent.

Ms Brain also liked the brand’s other bars.

“They’ve got dates, nuts, soy crisps and cocoa so it’s more wholefood style ingredients rather than refined additives,” she said.

FIBRE:

Ideally there should be 5g of fibre in a bar but 22 out of 82 had none at all.

Ms Brain said fibre was great for reducing blood sugar spikes and improving gut movements.

“I would be going to bars with more instead of less,” she said.

The recommended daily fibre intake is around 25g for females and 35g for males.

“It’s definitely good to look out for and if it has some, it’s an added benefit,” Ms Brain said.

Best: Quest Protein Bar Choc Brownie.

In every 100g, there was 28g of fibre and the protein compounds were mostly made from whey portions.

BEST OVERALL:

The Quest brand has one of the most balanced nutritional profiles across the bars analysed, experts say.

Ms Brain said protein, sugar and saturated fats were generally ideal in the seven options.

However, it still contained a number of filler ingredients.

Best: Chocolate brownie was the best for fibre and had a smaller number of ingredients – only 14.