‘Healthy’ snack bars hiding large amounts of sugar, new report warns

Released to coincide with Sugar Awareness Week, Action on Salt and Sugar's latest report highlights how products often presented as wholesome, on-the-go options remain high in sugars, saturated fat and calories. Despite this, they are frequently promoted using nutrition claims that can mislead shoppers.

Key findings

• Under the UK’s voluntary front-of-pack traffic-light labels, 37% of snack bars sold in supermarkets would be high in sugars and 55% high in saturated fat. 
• On average, one bar contained 175kcal and 7g of sugar per serving - almost one-third (29%) of a 7–10-year-old child’s maximum daily limit of free sugars. 
• 64% of products would be classed as ‘less healthy’ using the Government’s Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM), meaning they would not be allowed to be promoted in store or advertised on TV or online. 
• When compared against Chile’s gold-standard mandatory nutrient warning system, 68% of snack bars would carry a “high in sugar” warning label. 
• Despite this, more than half (53%) still carried a “protein” claim, 18% claimed to be “high in fibre”, and one quarter promoted themselves as “low sugar” or “no added sugar”. Amongst those with a “high-fibre” claim, 31% were also high in sugars, illustrating how selective marketing can create a misleading “health halo”. 

Despite the findings, lower-sugar alternatives do exist: some products contained less than 1g of sugar per serving, showing reformulation is possible where companies choose to act.

Voluntary measures falling short

The report concludes that voluntary action is not delivering significant improvements. The Government’s 2016 Sugar Reduction Programme has achieved only limited reductions, and rapidly growing product categories - including protein bars - sit outside its scope altogether. Similarly, voluntary traffic-light labelling remains inconsistent, with many products still lacking clear front-of-pack nutrition information.

International evidence suggests mandatory measures work more effectively. Chile’s compulsory warning labels have driven widespread reformulation; applying the same thresholds to UK snack bars indicates that two-thirds would need a high-sugar warning.

To protect children’s health and drive meaningful reform, Action on Salt and Sugar is calling on ministers to:

• Introduce targeted levies on salt and sugar to incentivise reformulation (a core ask of the Recipe for Change campaign).
• Require major food and drink companies to report the healthiness of their sales and set measurable improvement targets.
• Update the Nutrient Profiling Model so it reflects current guidelines and applies consistently across advertising, labelling and claims.
• Mandate clear, uniform front-of-pack nutrition labelling across all food and drink categories.
• Tighten rules on health and nutrition claims to prevent products high in sugar, salt or saturated fat from appearing healthier than they are.

Dr Kawther Hashem, Senior Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition and Head of Research and Impact at Action on Salt and Sugar, said: 

"Parents and young people are being misled into believing these products are healthy when many contain excess sugar and calories. The Government must take more assertive action by mandating clear front-of-pack labelling, tightening sugar thresholds, and introducing levies on unhealthy foods."

Nourhan Barakat, Nutritionist at Action on Salt and Sugar, added: 

"Consumers deserve honesty from food businesses. Claims like ‘natural ingredients’, ‘high-fibre’, and ‘high-protein’ can be deceptive when products are still high in sugar and saturated fat. It’s unacceptable that an average bar provides nearly one-third of a child’s daily sugar limit."

Kate Howard, Children’s Food Campaign Coordinator at Sustain, said:

"Too many food businesses take advantage of people trying to eat healthily or provide their families with nutritious meals by shrouding their ingredients in misleading claims. This approach is dishonest, particularly when it comes to food aimed at children, and is right to be called out. We strongly support Action on Sugar’s calls this Sugar Awareness Week. As partners in the Recipe for Change campaign, alongside Action on Sugar, we need the government to make sure companies are not only producing healthier food but are also being honest about what’s in their products."

Read Action on Salt and Sugar's new report here