Calories in Planters Big Nut Bars' too high for snack

Planters Big Nut Bars. Double Peanut, and Triple Nut. $2.99 per 8.1-ounce box of five bars.

Bonnie: I've got to feel sorry for Planters, launching its new peanut bars in the midst of a peanut-based salmonella outbreak. Since mid-January, the peanut butter, peanut paste, and dry and roasted peanuts produced by the Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) at its Blakely, Ga., processing plant have sickened more than 500 people nationwide and has so far been implicated in eight deaths.

The products containing that paste include — but are not limited to — cookies, pastry, sandwich crackers, candy, ice cream and bars. Planters Big Nut Bars are not on the current recall list, according to the Planter's Web site. Parent company Kraft says it did not purchase peanut butter or paste from the PCA for use in any of its products. (For a list of constantly updated brand-name product recalls related to this possible salmonella contamination, go to: blog.usfoodsafety.com.)

Although these products are deemed safe, I still don't recommend them. (And I find it prudent to postpone eating peanut-containing products until the government gives the all-safe.) Although peanuts are high in protein, these bars are not a good protein source, with only 7 grams. That's odd, considering that these new Planters bars are 30 percent larger than the leading nut and granola bars.

The fat content does reflect their larger size, with 13 grams of total fat, of which 3 are saturated, or too much for a snack bar. One bar also contains 220 calories, a modest 160 to 230 milligrams of sodium, a decent 3 grams of fiber and 13 grams of sugars.

Carolyn: Some of you might be wondering if we're the ones who aren't nuts: Hasn't Planters been making a Peanut Bar since the 1930s?

Yes, but that's a hard-sugar-crusted bar sold in the candy aisle, whereas these are chewy granola ones found in the cereal/granola bar aisle. In other words, America's most-famous name in nuts has finally decided to cash in on the sweet and salty nut bar trend.

How are these bars different from Nature Valley's Sweet & Salty and Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Sweet & Salty Bars? The most noticeable difference is size: These are bigger and have more calories. Also the Triple Nut variety lacks the sweet peanut butter layer that makes the Double Peanut (and most competitive brands) so wonderfully sweet.

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