Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Asda plain scones ultra-processed?

Pastries Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Asda plain scones

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:

  • 16 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed pastries

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, Folic Acid, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Unsalted Butter, Sugar, Water, Glycerol, Skimmed Milk Powder, Diphosphates, Sodium Carbonates, Free Range Egg, Allergy Advice!

Additives: E422 Glycerol , E450 Diphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates

As written on the pack

Fortified Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Folic Acid, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Unsalted Butter (Milk) (18%), Sugar, Water, Humectant (Glycerol), Skimmed Milk Powder, Raising Agents (Diphosphates, Sodium Carbonates), Free Range Egg. Allergy Advice!

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.

  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 205 pastries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 61st. 87% of the pastries 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 205 pastries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057172879052, last edited 1 October 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.