Is Arnotts Chewy caramel timtam ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 34 ingredients
- 8 additives
- Nutri-Score E
Less processed chocolate biscuits
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
sugar (processing marker), wheat flour, caramel (15‚5 per cent, sugar (processing marker), milk, water, butter (processing marker) (lai), glucose (ultra-processing marker) (from wheat), e422 (ultra-processing marker), e471 (ultra-processing marker), soya lecithin (ultra-processing marker), e307b, flavour (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker)), vegetable oil (processing marker) (soybean), milk powder (processing marker), cocoa butter (processing marker), mousse of cocoa, golden syrup (ultra-processing marker), color food (caramel iii2, beetroot red (ultra-processing marker), cochineal, annatto (ultra-processing marker)), soya lecithin (ultra-processing marker), e476 (ultra-processing marker), cocoa powder, salt (processing marker), baking powder, flavour (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E160b Annatto , E162 Beetroot red , E307b Concentrated tocopherol , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E422 Glycerol , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate
As written on the pack
sugar, wheat flour, caramel (15,5 per cent) (sugar, condensed milk, water, butter (lai), glucose (from wheat), humectant (e422), emulsifiers (e471, soya lecithin), antioxidant (e307b), flavour, salt), vegetable oil (soybean) , milk powder, cocoa butter, mousse of cocoa, golden syrup, color food (caramel iii2, beetroot red, cochineal, annatto), emulsifiers (soya lecithin, e476), cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, flavour
What makes it ultra-processed
Cosmetic additives
Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.
- E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
- E162 Beetroot red Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
- E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
- E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
- E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
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- Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
Substances rarely used in home kitchens
Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.
- Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
- Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
7 ingredients that would only make it processed
Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.
- Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
- Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
- Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
- Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
- Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.
Among 301 chocolate biscuits
From least to most processed, this one ranks 278th. 95% of the chocolate biscuits here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9310072001210, last edited 13 July 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
- Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
- The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
- NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of E (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.