Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Bellarom Instant hot chocolate ultra-processed?

400 g Instant chocolate powders Sold in Ireland and the Netherlands

Pack of Bellarom Instant hot chocolate

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:

  • 15 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed instant chocolate powders

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

Whey Powder, Sugar, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder 15%, Glucose Syrup, Coconut Oil, Flavouring Stabilisers (Potassium Phosphates, Polyphosphates), Milk Protein, Thickener, Cellulose Gum, mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Salt, Silicon Dioxide, Find out more at ra.org Alleran

Additives: E340 Potassium phosphates , E452 Polyphosphates , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E551 Silicon dioxide

As written on the pack

Whey Powder (Milk), Sugar, 15% Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder*, Glucose Syrup, Coconut Oil, Flavouring Stabilisers (Potassium Phosphates, Polyphosphates), Milk Protein, Thickener (Cellulose Gum, Emulsifier (Mono-and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Salt, Anti-caking Agent (Silicon Dioxide). Rainforest Alliance Certified. Find out more at ra.org Alleran

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.

  • E452 Polyphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is a thickener made by chemically modifying cellulose from wood or cotton.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E551 Silicon dioxide A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • 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.
3 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 51 instant chocolate powders

From least to most processed, this one ranks 38th. 88% of the instant chocolate powders 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 51 instant chocolate powders, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 20937461, last edited 17 September 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.