Conor Pope reviews cereal bars.

Alpen Light Summer Fruits €3.19 for 756g, €25.31 per kg

Highs: This is a well-known brand that is widely available. The bars manages to be low calorie without having the vile saccharine aftertaste that is common in many such products. They also have a nice chewy texture, are high in fibre and now come with added prebiotics which, like their probiotic cousins, aid digestion, apparently. Alpen also makes much of the "drizzle" of yoghurt sitting on top of the bar.

Lows: While some people might like said drizzle, PriceWatch was not overly impressed either by its flavour or its appearance. Although it does have a slight cranberry taste, the fruit content of the bar seems a little low, unlike the price which seems a little high.

Verdict: Expensively tasty.

Star rating: ***

Jordan's Frusli Blueberry Burst Cereal Bars 2.80 for 180g, 15.55 per kg

Highs: This has, the packaging boasts, won a Slimming magazine award for the last five years making it the Chelsea of cereal bars. The ingredient list looks commendably natural and free of artificial additives, even if the "blueberry infused dried cranberries" sounds like something Willy Wonka would come up with on an off day. It is made up of 24 per cent dried fruit and is cheaper than the competition.

Lows: Just 2 per cent of the fruit is blueberries which makes the name of the cereal bar just a little misleading. While it looks pleasingly like a flapjack, it has lost all its crunch and tastes, less pleasingly, of cardboard.

Verdict: Cheap but a bit cardboardy

Star rating: **

Geobar Traidcraft Cranberry and Raisin Fair Trade Cereal Bar 0.65 for 35g €18.57 per kg

Highs: This bar not only feels good for you, it also comes with a feel-good factor as the raisins, honey and sugar are all fair trade products. The fruit has a nice zing to it and while you can taste the honey it is not excessively sweet. The bar has a fruit content of around 27 per cent, making it the fruitiest of the bars reviewed.

Lows: At 131 calories per bar - compared with fewer than 70 calories for some of the competition - it might not appeal to the extremely diet-conscious. It is also a bit rice-crispie-like and is very sticky.

Verdict: Good for you and others

Star rating: ****

You Are What You Eat Cool Cranberry Cereal Bar 3.23 for 150g €21.53 per kg

Highs: This has a wholesome ingredient list with a very good mixture of cereals, including bran flakes, barley, crisped rice and corn flakes competing for attention. The cranberries are nice and big and the cereals are good and crunchy. While the bar is unlikely to leave you completely full, it is quite substantial.

Lows: With cross-branding such as this you have to wonder how much extra you are paying to have the TV programme's seal of approval. And if the answer is "anything at all", then that seems a bit excessive. The box is quite a bit bigger than the individual bars, which might be ever so slightly misleading.

Verdict: Crunchy and varied

Star rating: ***

Ryvita Mixed Berry Goodness Bar €2.50 for 138g 18.11 per kg

Highs: With just 61 calories in each bar this is the one for weight watchers. Like the Alpen bar, it comes with prebiotics. This comes out on top in the healthy-looking ingredient stakes but despite all the healthiness on show actually tastes quite appealing and will certainly fill a guilt-free gap.

Lows: Goodness bar? PriceWatch has to confess to hating the name and were it not for the purposes of research we would have steered completely clear of it on that basis alone. It's hard to fault its taste or texture but it was the only bar to fall to pieces when we tried to take it from its wrapper.

Verdict: Low cal but not low in taste

Star rating: ****

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