UNCLE TOBYS PROTEIN CARAMEL AND DARK CHOCOLATE MUESLI BARS SCHOOL LUNCHBOX SNACKS | 175G

“With a 4.5 Health Star Rating and claims of high protein and fibre, this Uncle Tobys bar appears to be a nutritious, high-performance snack. But when we examine the ingredient list — not just the macros — a very different picture emerges.With a 4.5 Health Star Rating and claims of high protein and fibre, this Uncle Tobys bar appears to be a nutritious, high-performance snack. But when we examine the ingredient list, not just the macros, a very different picture emerges.The second ingredient is glucose syrup, followed by soy protein isolate, an ultra-processed ingredient commonly used to artificially boost protein claims. While legal and widely used, soy protein isolate is stripped of its natural nutrients and may be derived from genetically modified sources. It’s not something we typically associate with wholefood nutrition, especially for children.
The fibre content, while high on paper, is largely driven by chicory root fibre, a processed bulking agent rather than naturally occurring fibre from wholefoods like seeds, legumes or vegetables. The dark chocolate compound is made with vegetable fat, not cocoa butter, and the bar also includes multiple forms of added sugar: glucose, sugar and invert sugar, a clear case of ingredient splitting.

This bar is a prime example of how the Health Star Rating can be manipulated through nutrient fortification and formulation tricks, while ignoring the overall quality and processing level of the ingredients. It rewards isolated numbers, not real food.
Uncle Tobys is a brand trusted by Australian families, but this bar doesn’t align with what most parents would expect from a truly nourishing option. It may meet performance targets on a nutrition panel, but it falls short of the standards we should be setting for everyday snacks, particularly those marketed to children.
A 4.5-star rating for a bar built on glucose syrup, soy protein isolate and synthetic fibre is deeply misleading. Our food rating systems urgently need to evolve to reflect the full picture, not just the numbers.”