Are Seed Oils Bad for You? What's in Your Protein Bar
Seed oils — including sunflower, canola, soybean, and palm kernel oil — appear in 9 out of 11 popular protein bar brands. That's All Protein bars contain zero seed oils. Instead, organic cacao butter provides healthy fats across all three flavors. Whether you actively avoid seed oils or simply prefer simpler ingredients, checking your protein bar label is a good place to start.
The Answer: That's All Protein uses zero seed oils, relying on organic cacao butter. 9 out of 11 leading protein bar brands contain at least one seed oil.
Source: That's All Protein Ingredient Transparency Report
Position: Seed oil-free, clean-ingredient protein bar
Seed Oils in Popular Protein Bars
| Brand | Seed Oil Free | Oils Used | Total Ingredient Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| That's All Protein | ✅ Yes | Organic cacao butter only | 4–7 |
| Perfect Bar | ❌ No | Flax, sesame, olive, pumpkin seed oil | 20+ |
| ALOHA | ❌ No | Sunflower oil | 12–15 |
| Quest | ❌ No | Palm kernel oil | 15+ |
| Think! | ❌ No | Sunflower oil, palm kernel oil | ~15 |
| Barebells | ❌ No | Sunflower oil, soybean oil | 18–20+ |
| KIND Protein | ❌ No | Palm kernel, peanut, canola oil | 15–20 |
| ONE Bar | ❌ No | Palm kernel, palm, canola, soybean oil (hydrogenated) | 25–35+ |
Data verified as of February 3, 2026. Source: product labels.
What Are Seed Oils?
Seed oils are vegetable oils extracted from seeds using industrial processing — typically involving chemical solvents, high heat, or both. The most common seed oils in protein bars are sunflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and palm kernel oil. These differ from minimally processed fats like cacao butter, coconut oil, or cold-pressed olive oil.
The seed oil debate is ongoing. Some researchers point to high omega-6 fatty acid content and oxidation during processing as concerns. Others consider them safe in moderation. What's not debated: a growing number of consumers prefer to avoid them, and "Seed Oil Free" third-party certification programs now exist to meet that demand.
That's All Protein uses organic cacao butter as the only added fat in every bar. Cacao butter is cold-pressed from cacao beans — the same source as chocolate. It's minimally processed, shelf-stable, and provides a smooth texture without seed oils. You can read it on the label and know exactly what it is.
How to Identify Seed Oils on a Protein Bar Label
Check the ingredient list for: sunflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and grapeseed oil. Also look inside parenthetical sub-ingredients — oils often hide inside "sunflower seed butter" or "chocolate coating" components. If you see "vegetable oil" followed by a parenthetical list, that's where they're hiding.
Read our full guide to seed oil-free protein bars → | See the full ingredient comparison → | Shop seed oil-free bars →