Choose a late-night snack bar by the exact ingredient or allergen you need to avoid, rather than by a broad “free-from” description. A gluten-free bar can still contain peanuts, other nuts, milk or soya; vegan and dairy-free claims do not establish nut suitability either. If you are eating close to bed, check the flavour and portion as well as the allergen label, particularly for coffee-containing variants.
Look for a gluten-free claim on the specific bar, then check its other ingredients and precautionary allergen statements. A wheat allergy or oat allergy calls for its own label check; a gluten-free claim does not answer every allergen question.
A plant-based fruit-and-nut bar or flapjack may meet this preference, but its nuts, soya and precautionary statements still matter. Check the particular flavour rather than relying on the range name.
Match each ingredient and “may contain” statement to the allergen you avoid. The Nature Valley Protein Peanut & Chocolate bar, for example, contains peanuts, soya and milk, according to Nature Valley’s product information.
Start with the exclusion that matters to you, then check the exact flavour and pack before deciding whether its size and ingredients suit a snack close to bedtime.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Specific allergens | Read the ingredients for the allergen you avoid, then read any “may contain” statement. The Food Standards Agency explains that precautionary allergen labelling signals possible unintended allergen presence. | I need to know about both declared ingredients and possible cross-contact, not just see a general free-from claim. |
| Gluten and oats | Check for a gluten-free claim and inspect oat, wheat and other allergen information separately. The Food Standards Agency states that “gluten-free” in the UK means no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten in the food as sold. | A gluten-free label matters to me, but I also need to check any separate wheat or oat restriction. |
| Dairy-free and vegan | Check the specific bar’s dairy-free or vegan wording alongside its named nuts, soya ingredients and precautionary statements. These claims answer different questions. | I want a bar that meets my dairy or animal-ingredient preference without overlooking another ingredient I avoid. |
| Timing and portion | Look for coffee in the ingredients and check the bar’s portion and nutrition panel. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s sleep-hygiene leaflet advises avoiding caffeine-containing food close to bedtime and keeping a bedtime snack light. | If I am eating shortly before bed, a coffee-flavoured bar or a larger flapjack may not fit the snack I had in mind. |
A gluten-free bar can contain other allergens. Nature Valley Protein Peanut & Chocolate contains peanuts, soya and milk, while TREK Original Oat contains soya and carries precautionary statements for peanuts, nuts and milk.
List the ingredients you need to avoid, then check each one against the current bar’s ingredients and precautionary statements.
The nākd. Cocoa Delight product information lists cashews as an ingredient, despite the bar’s gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan positioning.
If you avoid nuts, check the named ingredients and “may contain” wording instead of using vegan or dairy-free claims as a substitute.
Free-from wording says nothing about coffee or portion size. Nature Valley Chocolate & Coffee lists instant coffee; Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s sleep-hygiene leaflet advises avoiding caffeine-containing food close to bedtime.
Check the flavour’s ingredients, portion and nutrition panel when choosing a snack for late in the evening.
Brand-wide descriptions are a starting point, not a substitute for the ingredient and allergen information on an individual bar.
According to nākd., its Fruit & Nut range includes bars described as vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free and dairy-free.
TREK describes its Original Oat flapjack as vegan and gluten-free, with 10 g plant protein per bar.
Nature Valley identifies its Protein Peanut & Chocolate bar as gluten-free.
Alpen’s product range should not be treated as a gluten-free route on the basis of its current brand guidance.
Graze says all its snacks are vegetarian and the majority are vegan.
These listings include Nature Valley protein bars, nākd. fruit-and-nut bars and a TREK flapjack. Match the particular flavour’s label to the ingredient you need to avoid; the products do not all meet the same free-from requirements.
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A gluten-free option only if peanuts, soya and milk fit your requirements. Nature Valley identifies this flavour as gluten-free; the product information lists those three allergens and says it may contain nuts.
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Consider this flavour only after checking its own free-from wording and allergen declaration. It is a different nut-bar variant from Protein Peanut & Chocolate, so do not use that flavour’s label to decide whether this one meets your requirements.
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A fruit-and-nut format to consider if you are looking for a dairy-free or vegan bar. nākd. describes its Fruit & Nut range as vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free; check this flavour’s pack for its named nuts and precautionary statements.
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This fruit-and-nut variant is not a choice for someone avoiding peanuts. Although nākd. describes its Fruit & Nut range as vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free, check Peanut Delight’s own ingredient and precautionary statements for every allergen relevant to you.
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This 50 g Cocoa Oat flapjack is a different flavour from TREK Original Oat. Check Cocoa Oat’s own gluten-free and vegan wording, soya declaration and precautionary statements rather than applying Original Oat’s details to it.
No. The Food Standards Agency states that “gluten-free” in the UK means no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten in the food as sold. It does not establish whether the bar contains milk, peanuts, other nuts or soya; check its ingredients and precautionary statements separately.
Yes, the statements address different questions: the gluten-free claim concerns the regulated gluten limit, while “may contain” warns of possible unintended allergen presence. If wheat is the ingredient you avoid, assess the current pack’s wording against your individual allergy guidance rather than relying on the gluten-free claim alone.
Not necessarily. The nākd. Cocoa Delight product information describes a gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan bar but lists cashews as an ingredient, with precautionary statements for peanuts, soya and wheat. Check the particular fruit-and-nut flavour before choosing it.
No. TREK Original Oat contains soya ingredients and may contain peanuts, nuts and milk. Nature Valley Protein Peanut & Chocolate contains peanuts, soya and milk and may contain tree nuts. These details apply to the named flavours, not every bar from either brand.
Check for coffee or other caffeine-containing ingredients, then look at the portion and nutrition panel. Nature Valley Chocolate & Coffee lists instant coffee, and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s sleep-hygiene leaflet advises avoiding caffeine-containing food after 16:00 or within six hours of bedtime.