The Protein Ball Lemon & Pistachio — OKAY

Name: The Protein Ball Lemon & Pistachio
Brand: the protein ball co

Munch or Dump rates The Protein Ball Lemon & Pistachio by the protein ball co OKAY — score 60/90.

A genuinely whole-food base of dates, cashews and pistachios, padded out with isolated plant proteins, rice starch and grape juice concentrate. Clean for a snack bar, but it's date-sugar-heavy and lightly engineered, so it lands as a balanced OKAY rather than a clean MUNCH.

Why this verdict

Whole-food base: dates, cashews and pistachios lead the list with no artificial additives
But isolated pea/rice protein, rice starch and tapioca fibre make it a built snack, not just fruit and nuts
17g sugar per ball, mostly from dates plus added grape juice concentrate
Calorie-dense (192 cal per 45g ball) and fat-heavy from the nuts and coconut
Added B12, C and D3 are a bonus but don't change what it is

Ingredients (14)

Dates (safe) — Whole dried fruit; the main binder and natural sweetener, but very high in concentrated sugar.
Cashews (safe) — Whole nut, good fats and some protein; calorie-dense.
Pistachios (9%) (safe) — Whole nut with protein, fibre and healthy fat.
rice starch (moderate) — A second refined starch filler stacked on the rice flour.
grape juice concentrate (moderate) — Concentrated fruit sugar used as a sweetener; functionally added sugar despite the 'no added sugar' framing.
desiccated coconut (safe) — Whole-food garnish, adds saturated fat
Pea Protein (safe) — Plant protein added for structure/mouthfeel.
Rice Protein (safe) — Plant protein component bundled with the rice syrup solids.
Chia Seeds (safe) — Whole seed; fibre, omega-3 and protein.
Tapioca Fibre (moderate) — Isolated/refined fibre used to bump the fibre claim and texture.
Lemon Oil (0.35%) (safe) — Natural citrus oil for flavor; trivial amount.
Acerola cherry extract (safe) — Natural vitamin C source.
vitamin D3 (safe) — Added cholecalciferol to support calcium absorption and bone health — standard, beneficial fortification.
vitamin B12 (safe) — Added micronutrient relevant for a vegan product.