Is Arnott's Tim Tam ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- Flavouring
- Invert sugar
- E120 Cochineal
- E160b Annatto
- E322 Lecithins
- E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate
- 24 ingredients
- 6 additives
- Nutri-Score E
Less processed chocolate biscuits
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Milk Chocolate 38% (Sugar (processing marker), Milk, Cocoa Butter (processing marker), Cocoa Mass Vegetable Oil, Soy Lecithin (ultra-processing marker), e476 (ultra-processing marker), Flavour (ultra-processing marker)), Wheat Flour, Sugar Vegetable Oill, Soy Lecithin (ultra-processing marker), e307b From Soy, Golden Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Food Colours (Caramel II, Beet Red, Cochineal (ultra-processing marker), Annatto (ultra-processing marker)), Wheat Starch (processing marker), Cocoa Pavoler, Salt (processing marker), Baking Powder, Soy Lecithin (ultra-processing marker), Flavour (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E120 Cochineal , E160b Annatto , E307b Concentrated tocopherol , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate
As written on the pack
Milk Chocolate (38%) (Sugar, Milk Solids, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass Vegetable Oil, Emulsifiers (Soy Lecithin, E476), Flavour), Wheat Flour, Sugar Vegetable Oill (Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Antioxidant (E307b From Soy), Golden Syrup, Food Colours (Caramel II, Beet Red, Cochineal, Annatto), Wheat Starch, Cocoa Pavoler, Salt, Baking Powder, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), 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.
- E120 Cochineal Carmine is a red colour made from cochineal insects.
- 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.
- 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.
- E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
- 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.
- Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
5 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.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
- Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
- 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.
- Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
Among 18 milk chocolate biscuits
From least to most processed, this one ranks 11th. 100% of the milk chocolate biscuits here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9310072000282, last edited 7 August 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.