Hidden Trans Fats & Heavy Metals: Peanut Butter Brands Rated by Unbox Health

Peanut butter is often seen as a guilt-free indulgence sweet, comforting, and protein-rich. Whether spread over toast, added to smoothies, or eaten straight off the spoon, it’s earned its place in Indian homes as a healthy snack or pre-workout fuel. But is the jar in your pantry as wholesome as you think?

At Unbox Health, we tested India’s top peanut butter brands to uncover what’s really inside; beyond the label.

In its purest form, peanut butter is made by grinding roasted peanuts until smooth. You don’t need sugar, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, or added flavors. Yet, many commercial peanut butters are far from this minimalism.

Manufacturers often add:

• Refined sugars to improve taste
• Hydrogenated oils, including partially hydrogenated oils that contain trans fats
• Salt and flavoring agents
• Preservatives and emulsifiers
  

These additions may enhance shelf life and spread ability, but they also introduce harmful compounds especially trans fats and aflatoxins that consumers are largely unaware of.

India banned partially hydrogenated oils by 2022, but products with <0.5g trans fat per serving can still legally label themselves as “0 trans fat” due to regulatory loopholes (FSSAI Gazette Notification, 2021). Since few consumers strictly stick to the serving size, cumulative trans fat intake often exceeds safe limits.

Many Studies have shown Trans fats to be associated with:

• Increased LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Lowered HDL (good) cholesterol
• Higher risk of heart disease, stroke, and inflammation
  (Harvard School of Public Health, 2020)

Peanuts are prone to fungal contamination, especially by Aspergillus flavus, which produces aflatoxins, highly toxic, carcinogenic compounds. Aflatoxins are known to:

• Damage the liver
• Increase cancer risk
• Suppress immunity
  (IARC Monograph Vol. 100F, WHO)

Additionally, some samples contained traces of lead, cadmium, and mercury with long-term health effects, especially in children and pregnant women.

We rated each product based on 3 objective criteria:

1. Label Accuracy Score (LAS): Do the actual nutrients match the claims? We measured calories, fat, protein, sugar, and fiber in the lab and compared them to the label.

2. Non-Toxicity Score (NTS): We tested for heavy metals and aflatoxins against FSSAI’s permissible limits. The lower the contamination, the higher the NTS.

3. Nutritional Profile Score (NPS): We analyzed protein, sugar, and fat content based on Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) and WHO nutritional quality standards.

50% of peanut butters had unsafe aflatoxin levels, exceeding FSSAI’s limits.
30% failed label accuracy checks meaning what you read on the pack wasn’t what was inside.

Toxic Products Still Dominate Online Platforms

Surprisingly, some of the most highly toxic peanut butters received glowing customer reviews on Amazon:

• 5 peanut butters with low NTS scored over 4.1 stars on average, with 1 lakh+ reviews.
• The #1 best-selling peanut butter (72,900+ reviews) received a C rating on Unbox Health due to high aflatoxin levels and a misleading label.

These brands are thriving, not because they’re safe, but because consumers don’t have access to lab-verified information. This is where Unbox Health comes into picture.