Protein Shrink Ray Hits South Beach Cereal Bars

Some of Kraft’s South Beach Living cereal bars have been reformulated, and the new label boasts that, in addition to a “new lower price,” the bars have “twice the protein of the leading cereal bars.” That might be true, given that most cereal bars are made up of little more than corn, rice, corn syrup, rice and corn. But the new bars actually have 20% less protein than the previous versions.

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In the side-by-side above, that’s the old version on the left, and the new one on the right. What else has changed? While the ingredient list appears to be virtually identical, the new bars have added 2 grams of carbs while shedding 2 protein grams, so we have to assume that some of the soy protein has been replaced by additional oligofructose and polydextrose, which are basically sweeteners and fillers.

Still want a high-protein breakfast? Maybe it’s time to switch back to bacon and eggs — though you may have a hard time tossing those into your pocket to eat on the train en route to work.

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