Is Bells Puff pastry ultra-processed?

Puff pastry sheets Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Emulsifier
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

16 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed puff pastry sheets

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, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Margarine (Palm Oil, Water, Salt (processing marker), Emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (mono- and DiGlycerides of Fatty Acids (ultra-processing marker))), Water, Salt (processing marker), Preservative (processing marker) (Potassium Sorbate (processing marker))

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Margarine (Palm Oil; Water; Salt; Emulsifier: Mono & Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Water, Salt, Preservative: Potassium Sorbate.

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.

E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.

E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 19 puff pastry sheets

From least to most processed, this one ranks 12th. 63% of the puff pastry sheets 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 19 puff pastry sheets, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5011262013016, last edited 27 March 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.