Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Asda Custard Creams ultra-processed?

Filled biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Asda Custard Creams

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed filled biscuits

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

fortified wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin (b3), thiamin (b1)), sugar, palm oil, whey powder (from milk), glucose syrup, wheat starch, raising agent (ammonium carbonates, sodium carbonates), salt, flavouring, colour (carotenes), including cereals containing gluten, flavours, hydrogenated fat

Additives: E160a Carotene , E500 Sodium carbonates , E503 Ammonium carbonates

As written on the pack

fortified wheat flour [wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin (b3), thiamin (b1)], sugar, palm oil, whey powder (from milk), glucose syrup, wheat starch, raising agent (ammonium carbonates, sodium carbonates), salt, flavouring, colour (carotenes). allergy advice! for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. may also contain traces of sesame seeds. no artificial colours, flavours or hydrogenated fat.

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Hydrogenated fat An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
4 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 99 filled biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 67th. 96% of the filled biscuits here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 99 filled biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054070313572, last edited 21 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.