Thursday, August 28, 2008

Delicious corn and fish gelatin bar

Yuck. My breakfast in a bar most certainly did not deliver on its claim to be a "caramel nut blast," nor, as far as I can tell did it fill some need for a "NUTRITION ENERGY BAR with High Protein." It is, alas, a bar of corn, with just a passing association with nuts, and none whatsoever with caramel." I don't even want to know what "blast" is a euphemism for. The first ingredient is apparently their proprietary 4 protein blend, consisting of casein, whey protein isolate, partially hydrogenated casein and whey, and soy protein isolate." Mouthwatering, no? And here we go, the next three ingredients are as bad as they get: corn syrup, sugar, and glycerin. Then follows a snappy medley of all manner of corny and unctuous concoctions: palm kernel oil, high maltose corn syrup, maltodextrin, fructose, soy lecithin, and a dusting of peanut flour and cocoa. The bar's "caramel nut blast" is powered by "less than 2%peanut butter," and absolutely no caramel at all; what looks caramel-like is the annatto added for color. The whole polysyllabic mess concludes with the slightest nod toward heavy cream and butter (much less than 2%, presumably), a pinch of salt, and some "mixed tocopherols," to "help protect flavor," we are told, and finally, the sine qua non of industrial hand-held food: fish gelatin. I don't even know what to say about that.

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