Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Bays English Muffins ultra-processed?

12 oz (340 g) English muffins Sold in the United States and France

Pack of Bays English Muffins

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed english muffins

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

wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin b1), riboflavin, folic acid), water, cornmeal, yeast, sugar, preservatives (sodium propionate calcium propionate), salt, wheat gluten, butter (cream, salt), vegetable oil (soybean), potato flour, dry whole milk, monocalcium phosphate fumaric acid, citric acid, soy lecithin

Additives: E282 Calcium propionate , E297 Fumaric acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

ENRICHED BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID], WATER, CORNMEAL, YEAST, SUGAR, PRESERVATIVES (SODIUM PROPIONATE CALCIUM PROPIONATE), SALT, WHEAT GLUTEN, BUTTER (CREAM, SALT), VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN), POTATO FLOUR, DRY WHOLE MILK, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE FUMARIC ACID, CITRIC ACID, SOY LECITHIN.

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.

  • 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.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
6 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.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • 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 31 english muffins

From least to most processed, this one ranks 23rd. 90% of the english muffins 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 31 english muffins, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0071479000013, last edited 31 May 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.