Is Nature’s Bakery Fig Bar Vegan? A Food Scientist's Verdict

The Ingredient Breakdown

As a food scientist, I look past the marketing claims and go straight to the label. Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars are marketed as a healthy, natural snack, but for a strict vegan, the devil is in the details. Here is the breakdown of the specific ingredients that flagged our attention.

Glycerin: This is the most common stumbling block in processed foods. Glycerin is used to retain moisture and give the bar a soft, chewy texture. While glycerin can be derived from vegetable oils (making it vegan), it can also be sourced from animal fat (tallow). Unless the package explicitly states "Vegetable Glycerin," it is often considered an ambiguous ingredient by strict vegans.

Natural Flavor: This is a catch-all term that protects a company's proprietary recipe. While "Natural Flavor" usually implies plant-derived sources in fruit-based snacks, it can technically contain dairy derivatives or animal-based compounds used for flavor enhancement. Without specific disclosure from the manufacturer, we cannot guarantee it is 100% plant-based.

Sugar (Cane Sugar): Nature’s Bakery uses cane sugar. In the food industry, conventional cane sugar is often processed using bone char (charred animal bones) to filter and whiten it. While the sugar itself contains no animal DNA, the processing method renders it non-vegan to many. Unless the package carries a "Certified Organic" or "Vegan" seal, the sugar is likely processed with bone char.

Blueberry Jam Ingredients: The blueberry variety contains Glycerin again, along with Apple Powder and Natural Flavors. While these are generally benign, they contribute to the cumulative uncertainty of the product's strict vegan status.

Nutritional Value

From a nutritional standpoint, Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars are a decent energy source. They rely on Whole Wheat Flour and Whole Grain Oats as their primary carbohydrate sources, providing fiber and sustained energy. The sweetness comes primarily from Cane Sugar and Brown Rice Syrup.

A single bar typically contains between 100-130 calories, depending on the flavor, with minimal fat content coming from Canola Oil. They are free from cholesterol and are a good source of carbohydrates for pre-workout fuel. However, the sugar content is significant (often around 12g per bar), which is something to monitor if you are watching your glycemic intake or trying to lose weight. They fit well into a diet that allows for moderate sugar intake but are not a "low sugar" food.