Sunbites Lightly Salted Wholegrain Crisps, 6 x 25g

Sunbites are wholegrain chips: a dough of four whole grains, formed into rippled squares and seasoned. This is the Lightly Salted flavour, in six 25g bags, 150g in all, and the listing says each bag is one serving. The full product name on the pack is lightly salted flavour wholegrain snack, and the pack gives a Leicester address for SUN.

The ingredients

According to the published pack listing, the chips are made from wholegrains (whole corn, whole wheat, whole brown rice flour and whole oat flour, 83%), sunflower oil, a seasoning of sea salt, natural flavourings, salt, sugar, spices and citric acid, and sugar.

Four whole grains

The pack says 100% wholegrain: every grain on the list is whole, with its bran and germ. Whole corn, whole wheat, whole brown rice and whole oats make up 83% of the chips, and that is where the fibre comes from.

Whole corn first

Whole corn is the first grain on the list, so it makes up more of the chips than the wheat, rice or oats, and it gives them a golden colour and a toasty note.

Oats and gluten

Oats are one of the cereals containing gluten under UK allergen rules, so the oat flour, like the wheat, is highlighted on the list.

Brown rice

Whole brown rice flour is milled from rice with its bran left on, which is what makes it a whole grain.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate is 61g per 100g, and most of it is starch from the grains rather than sugar.

Fibre

The label gives 6.6g of fibre per 100g and 1.7g in a bag.

Lightly salted

The seasoning is sea salt with salt, a little sugar, natural flavourings, spices and citric acid. The label gives 0.89g of salt per 100g and 0.22g in a bag, amber on the front of pack scale.

Sugar

Sugar appears twice, in the seasoning and at the end of the list, but the label gives 3.7g of sugars per 100g and 0.9g in a bag, green on the front of pack scale.

Only natural flavours

The pack says only natural flavours, and the flavourings on the list are natural flavourings.

Protein

The label gives 7.3g of protein per 100g and 1.8g in a bag, from the grains.

Numbers for one bag

The pack gives 119 kcal (498 kJ), 5.3g of fat, 0.5g of saturates, 15g of carbohydrate, 0.9g of sugars, 1.7g of fibre, 1.8g of protein and 0.22g of salt for each 25g bag. That is about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 8% of the fat and 4% of the salt. Per 100g it is 476 kcal (1993 kJ), 21g of fat, 2g of saturates, 61g of carbohydrate, 3.7g of sugars, 6.6g of fibre, 7.3g of protein and 0.89g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 21g is red. Saturates at 2g are amber. Sugars at 3.7g are green. Salt at 0.89g is amber, in the middle of its band.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight wheat and oats, cereals containing gluten. The allergy advice says the chips may contain barley, milk and soya. The pack says they are suitable for vegetarians; there is no vegan statement, and they are not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is the only oil on the list, and the label gives 2g of saturates per 100g.

Recycled plastic

The listing says the bags are made using 50% recycled plastic, counted through a certified mass balance approach.

The texture

The chips are rippled squares, firmer and grainier than a potato crisp, with a toasted cereal note from the whole grains.

Six bags

At 25g, each bag is one serving, 119 kcal. Six bags cover a school or working week with one to spare.

The pack

The blue outer bag carries the SUN name down one side, the word bites and 100% wholegrain, with a pile of rippled chips and one of the small bags in the corner.

Who it suits

A lightly salted wholegrain chip suits a lunchbox and anyone who likes a grainy, wholegrain snack. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten.

Serving ideas

A bag goes with a soup, a salad or a sandwich, or beside a houmous or tzatziki dip for an afternoon snack.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the chips make a grainy, crunchy topping for a soup or a salad.

Storage and packaging

The listing advises a cool, dry place; the bags are packed in a protective atmosphere, which keeps the chips fresh until each is opened.

Other Sunbites

The same Lightly Salted recipe, with the same nutrition table, also comes in a 95g sharing bag, which the label divides into 25g servings of 119 kcal, three to four to the bag. In the same six bag format we stock Sunbites Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream and Cracked Black Pepper, and Sweet Chilli also comes in a 28g bag and a 95g sharing bag.

Sizes of Sunbites Lightly Salted Wholegrain Crisps we stock

Figures as published on each pack's label.

The published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin. The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.