Protein Bar Comparison

Sub-scores

MLS	How extreme the nutrition label is — flagging high sugar, sodium, saturated fat, and energy-dense sweet formulations.	0–20
MDS	How many core ingredients have been replaced by industrial substitutes (modified starches, hydrogenated fats, HFCS, protein isolates).	0–30
AFS	How many chemical additives are stacked in — emulsifiers, preservatives, artificial colors, flavor enhancers.	0–80
HES	How engineered the sweetener system is — sugar alcohols, non-nutritive sweeteners, and multi-sweetener blending strategies.	0–20
Composite	MDS + AFS + HES + MLS. How far a product has moved from recognizable food.	0–150

Classification tiers

Processing class — derived from composite score
C0	Clean	0
C1	Clean, Minimal Markers	1–5
P1a	Light Processing	6–15
P1b	Moderate-Light Processing	16–25
P2a	Moderate Processing	26–38
P2b	Moderate-Heavy Processing	39–50
P3	Heavy Industrial Formulation	51–75
P4	Ultra-Formulated	76+

Metabolic class — derived from MLS
N0	No Metabolic Load	0
N0+	Minimal	1–3
N1a	Low	4–6
N1b	Low-Moderate	7–8
N2	Moderate	9–14
N3	High	15+

Ingredient detail

Bar	Ingredients	Class	What FIS Detected
Larabar Cashew Cookie	dates, cashews	Clean	High total sugar (from dates only)
RXBAR Chocolate Sea Salt	dates, egg whites, cashews, almonds, chocolate, cocoa, sea salt, natural flavors	Clean, Minimal Markers	1 formulation marker (natural flavors)
GoMacro Protein Paradise	organic brown rice syrup, organic pea protein, organic almonds, organic cashew butter, organic sunflower seeds, organic tapioca syrup, organic coconut oil, organic puffed brown rice, organic vanilla, sea salt	Clean, Minimal Markers	Protein isolate + brown rice syrup (matrix disruption only)
Clif Bar Chocolate Chip	organic rolled oats, organic brown rice syrup, soy protein isolate, cane syrup, oat fiber, soy flour, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, soy lecithin, natural flavors, salt, mixed tocopherols	Moderate-Light Processing	Protein isolate, soy lecithin, natural flavors, sweetener stacking
Kind Bar Dark Choc Nuts & Sea Salt	almonds, peanuts, chicory root fiber, honey, palm kernel oil, sugar, glucose syrup, dark chocolate, vegetable glycerin, rice flour, sea salt, soy lecithin, natural flavor	Moderate Processing	Coating fat + sweetener stacking = confection pattern, highest HES
David Bar Choc Chip Cookie Dough	milk protein isolate, soluble corn fiber, collagen, soy lecithin, erythritol, EPG, maltitol, peanut flour, egg white, natural flavor, allulose, sucralose, acesulfame K	Heavy Industrial Formulation	4 Tier A additives incl. EPG, 3 sweetener types, protein isolate + collagen

Analysis

These 6 bars span C0 to P3 — scores 3 to 64 — a 20× spread among products all marketed as “protein bars.”

Key Takeaways

Two bars (Larabar, RXBAR) are essentially clean — whole ingredients, minimal or no additives.
The jump from RXBAR (3) to Clif (28) is where industrial formulation begins: protein isolates, emulsifiers, sweetener stacking.
More protein doesn’t mean more processing. RXBAR delivers 12 g at a score of 3; David packs 28 g but scores 64.
David’s MLS = 0 despite being the most processed — non-nutritive sweeteners and sugar alcohols dodge every metabolic flag while stacking 4 Tier A additives.

Sub-score Deep Dive

Each bar’s dominant sub-score differs: MLS drives Larabar, MDS drives GoMacro, AFS dominates David, HES peaks at Kind.
Kind’s HES = 14 (highest) comes from sweetener stacking — honey + sugar + glucose syrup creates a confection pattern.
David’s AFS = 39 is extraordinary — EPG (fat replacer), sucralose, acesulfame K, plus natural flavors account for 4 Tier A hits alone.
GoMacro shows MDS without AFS: organic pea protein isolate and brown rice syrup disrupt the ingredient matrix but add zero chemical additives.