Random adventures always seem to lead to those gas station, convenience store purchases. Not ideal, but when starvation hits, fuel is necessary. You walk down the aisle and power bars, protein bars, snacks bars galore. After you heard about Kind bars coming under fire, from the FDA this week, would you pick one up?
If you’re not completely caught up on the controversy, the Food and Drug Administration let the makers of Kind know, their bars "do not meet the requirements for use of the nutrient content claim 'healthy’ on a food label" under the law.
"Your website states, 'There’s healthy. There’s tasty. Then there’s healthy and tasty' and 'all of our snacks are pretty much the nirvana of healthful tastiness.' In addition, your webpage for the Kind Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein product states 'KIND Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein is a healthy and satisfying blend of peanuts and antioxidant-rich dark chocolate.' However, none of your products listed above meet the requirements for use of the nutrient content claim 'healthy' that are set forth in 21 CFR 101.65(d)(2).”
The FDA is questioning the labeling on four of their bars — Fruit & Nut Almond & Apricot, Fruit & Nut Almond & Coconut, Kind Plus Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein, and Kind Plus Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew + Antioxidants. The reason the FDA says Kind bars aren't healthy enough for the label? Fat content. In order to label a food as healthy, the FDA says the food must contain 1 gram or less saturated fat and no more than 3 grams total fat. The four Kind bars listed contain between 2.5 and 5 grams of saturated fat and between 9 and 13 grams of total fat.
Kind addressed the FDA concerns on their blog by saying,
“Nuts, key ingredients in many of our snacks and one of the things that make fans love our bars, contain nutritious fats that exceed the amount allowed under the FDA’s standard. This is similar to other foods that do not meet the standard for use of the term healthy, but are generally considered to be good for you like avocados, salmon and eggs.”
People are calling the FDA guidelines outdated. It currently doesn’t include nuts in a healthful diet. Even though research shows increased nut consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
If you’ve been reading the comment boards, about the Kind bar controversy, the discussions are getting heated. When you compare a Snickers bar and a Kind Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate+Protein bar. A 2oz (60g) Snickers bar has 4.2g of saturated fat, while the Kind Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate+Protein bar has 40g with 3.5g saturated fat. So, normalized it makes the Snickers bar ~7g/100 and the Kind bar ~9g/100 of saturated fat. Pretty interesting, right? Where the Snickers bar doesn’t win is when it comes to carbohydrates. The Snickers bar has 60g/100 compared to KIND's 40g/100.
The binding of ingredients is where the danger of food products is. Bars sit on shelves, and their expiration date isn’t exactly a couple of days. We know fresh, raw ingredients are the best, and preservatives are the dangers to avoid when it comes to grocery shopping.
Nutritionist Marion Nestle says the FDA isn’t questioning the nuts in Kind bars. What the problem comes is, “A honey smoked almond bar, for instance, doesn't have chocolate, as some of their bars do, but does contain honey and molasses. Honey is added sugar. These are candy bars," said Nestle.
The FDA’s questioning of Kind’s “Healthy” label is definitely a game changer. With so many breakfast bars, energy bars, and etc. out there it’ll have an impact. It’ll definitely be interesting to see what the exact breakdown of ingredients is in these Kind bars. Is it more than just about the nuts? We’ll find out.
In the meantime, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to leave the house every am with some fresh fruit, and maybe a ziplock baggie of some raw almonds. You’ll thank your lucky stars when you and your girlfriend decide to run some errands, and L.A. traffic just isn’t your friend.
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