Compare meat & protein

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• Meat snacks 49 products

  Beef sticks, jerky and meat bars are convenient protein, but cured and dried meat is also salty and sometimes sweet. The World Health Organization’s cancer agency classifies processed meat as carcinogenic to humans, which reflects the strength of the evidence rather than the size of the risk, so most shoppers treat these as an occasional food.

• Protein powders 56 products

  Protein powders differ in the protein source (whey, casein, egg, beef, pea, rice, blends), sweeteners, flavors and thickeners. Unflavored whey with one or two ingredients is the simplest label; flavored and “clean” plant blends add sweeteners such as stevia, monk fruit or sucralose, natural flavors, gums and sometimes oils.

• Meat cuts & sausages 38 products

  For fresh beef, lamb and bison, the label claims matter more than the ingredient list, which is simply the meat. “Grass-fed” and “grass-finished” are described by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service as claims the producer must substantiate, and third-party programs such as the American Grassfed Association publish stricter rules.

• Pork & bacon 32 products

  Fresh pork has a one-ingredient label, but bacon, ham and sausage are cured or seasoned. Cured pork contains salt and a nitrite source, and “uncured” versions use a natural source such as celery powder; the processed-meat classification from the World Health Organization’s cancer agency applies to cured and smoked products.

• Poultry 40 products

  Chicken and turkey labels are full of marketing terms. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says hormones are not allowed in raising poultry, so “no hormones added” can only appear with a statement that federal regulations prohibit them, which means it does not distinguish one brand from another.