Sunbites Sour Cream and Cracked Black Pepper Wholegrain Crisps, 6 x 25g

Sunbites are wholegrain chips: a dough of four whole grains, formed into rippled squares and seasoned. This is the Sour Cream and Cracked Black Pepper flavour, in six 25g bags, 150g in all, and the listing says each inner bag is one serving. 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, 82%), sunflower oil, a seasoning of flavourings (containing milk, onion powder and black pepper), salt, whey powder (from milk), sugar, potassium chloride 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 82% of the chips.

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 59g per 100g, and most of it is starch from the grains rather than sugar.

Fibre

The label gives 8.2g of fibre per 100g, the most of the Sunbites we stock, and about 2g in a bag.

Sour cream

The sour cream note comes from flavourings containing milk and from whey powder, with citric acid for the soured tang. Onion powder in the flavourings gives it the feel of a soured cream and onion dip.

Cracked black pepper

Black pepper is part of the flavourings, and it gives a gentle, peppery warmth at the finish. There is no chilli on the list.

Potassium chloride and the salt figure

Potassium chloride sits in the seasoning beside salt. It tastes salty but contains no sodium, and the salt figure on a UK label is worked out from sodium. The label gives 0.67g of salt per 100g.

Numbers for one bag

Per 25g bag, the figures work out at about 119 kcal (497 kJ), 5.5g of fat, 0.5g of saturates, 14.8g of carbohydrate, 1g of sugars, 2g of fibre, 1.8g of protein and 0.17g of salt: about 6% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 8% of the fat and 3% of the salt. Per 100g the label gives 475 kcal (1988 kJ), 22g of fat, 2.1g of saturates, 59g of carbohydrate, 4g of sugars, 8.2g of fibre, 7g of protein and 0.67g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 22g is red. Saturates at 2.1g are amber. Sugars at 4g are green. Salt at 0.67g is amber, in the lower part of its band.

Allergens and diet

The published ingredients highlight wheat and oats, cereals containing gluten, and milk, in the flavourings and the whey powder. The allergy advice says the chips may contain barley and soya. The pack says they are suitable for vegetarians; they are not vegan, because of the milk, and they are not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Only natural flavours

The pack says only natural flavours. There is no colour on the list.

Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is the only oil on the list, and the label gives 2.1g 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, about 119 kcal. Six bags cover a school or working week with one to spare.

The pack

The green outer bag carries the SUN name down one side, the words sour cream and 100% wholegrain, with rippled chips beside a dollop of soured cream and one of the small bags in the corner.

Who it suits

A creamy, peppery wholegrain chip suits a lunchbox and anyone who likes a grainy, wholegrain snack. It is not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten or milk.

Serving ideas

A bag goes with a jacket potato, a tomato soup or a chicken salad sandwich.

In the kitchen

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

Storage

The listing advises a cool, dry place.

Other Sunbites

In the same six bag format we stock Sunbites Lightly Salted and Sweet Chilli, and Sweet Chilli also comes in a 28g bag.

Other 6 x 25g packs of Sunbites 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.