Snacks
Chips, crackers, bars, jerky and nuts with short ingredient lists, better fats and little added sugar.
How we rank snacks
- Ingredients 25%
- Fats 15%
- Sugar & salt 20%
- Independent testing 15%
- Trust 10%
- Value 15%
Why, and what each one means
We rank snacks on how close they stay to food: a short list of named ingredients, fat from the food or from olive, avocado or coconut oil, and little added sugar or salt. People on an ultra-processed diet ate about 500 more calories a day in a controlled trial (our guide). Testing counts too: Lead Safe Mama’s lab found cadmium in every potato chip it tested, including ones fried in avocado oil (its chart (opens in a new tab)).
- Ingredients 25%
- A short list of foods you recognize, nothing artificial, organic where it matters. Isolates, gums, added fibers, “natural flavors” and sugar alcohols cost points.
- Fats 15%
- Fat from the food itself, or olive, avocado or coconut oil. Refined seed oils (canola, sunflower, safflower, soybean) cost points.
- Sugar & salt 20%
- Little added sugar and moderate sodium per serving, with protein or fiber from the food itself. Sugar that comes only with the fruit is not added sugar.
- Independent testing 15%
- Contaminants that matter for the ingredients (cadmium in potatoes, arsenic in rice, lead and cadmium in seaweed, cocoa and protein) measured and published, by a lab the maker does not pay where possible. Untested scores 2 at most.
- Trust 10%
- Highest when the maker names everything, answers questions, and has no recalls, warning letters, Prop 65 notices or lawsuits over safety or labeling. Points come off for unresolved problems and for paid promoters it does not disclose.
- Value 15%
- The price per serving or use against the other products here that pass. The cheapest score highest; a high price needs a reason.
Each product scores every one from 1 to 5, and its rating is the weighted average. We list only products rated 3 or above that break none of our rules.
We avoid
- Artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners, and sugar alcohols in “protein” and “keto” bars.
- “Veggie” chips and puffs that are mostly starch and oil.
- Labels like “gluten-free”, “keto” or “plant-based”, which say nothing about how processed a snack is.
Read the research
Know one that fits? Suggest a product
4 products · best rated first
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LarabarLarabar Cashew Cookie, 1.7 oz bar
Two ingredients, cashews and dates, with 0 g added sugar and 5 mg sodium. This flavor has no published metals result. Lead Safe Mama found 5.72 ppb lead in the Lemon bar, so we score testing 2 and mark metals unchecked. -
Made in NatureMade in Nature Organic Dried Apple Rings, 3 oz bags (6-pack)
Dried organic apple rings with nothing added: no sulfur, sugar or preservatives, per the maker. We found no Prop 65 notice and no metals test; iHerb’s page carries a generic California warning. -
Pip's Heirloom SnacksPip's Sea Salt Mini Popcorn, 4.5 oz bags (4-pack)
Heirloom popcorn, avocado oil, Himalayan pink salt and rosemary extract on the maker’s page. Retailers still stock an older sunflower-oil bag. No metals test, and Lead Safe Mama avoids snacks with Himalayan salt. -
ChompsChomps Original Beef Stick, 1.15 oz, 10-pack
Grass-fed beef, sea salt and spices, no sugar and no seed oil. Its nitrate comes from celery, not added sodium nitrite, and it has 380 mg of sodium a stick. No independent metals test; untested scores 2.