Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Belvita Apricot soft bakes ultra-processed?

5 x 50g Breakfast biscuit Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Belvita Apricot soft bakes

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:

  • 50 ingredients
  • 10 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed breakfast biscuit

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

cereals 40.9%, wheat flour 22.3%, cereals 16.4% (oat, buckwheat grits, whole barley flour, oat flakes, spelt flour (wheat), whole wheat flour, malted wheat flour), rice flour 2.2%l, sugar, rapeseed oil, glucose-fructose syrup, wheat starch, apricot puree concentrate 1.8% (equivalent apricot puree 1.8%), acidity regulators (citric acid, malic acid, sodium citrates), concentrated carrot juice, gelling agent (pectins), humectant (glycerol), modified starch, inulin, isomaltulose, bulking agents (polydextrose, maltitols), thickener (starch), mineral blend (calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, elemental iron), raising agent (sodium carbonates), emulsifier (soya lecithins), salt, wheat gluten, flavourings, dextrose, 1 best before (e250g se opa5131621 03), 49

Additives: E1200 Polydextrose , E14XX Modified Starch , E296 Malic acid , E322 Lecithins , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E422 Glycerol , E440 Pectins , E500 Sodium carbonates , E965 Maltitol

As written on the pack

cereals 40,9 % [wheat flour 22,3 %, wholegrain cereals 16,4 % (oat grits 6,2 %, buckwheat grits 6,2 %, whole barley flour 1 %, oat flakes 1 %, spelt flour (wheat) 1 %, whole wheat flour 0,9 %, malted wheat flour 0,1 %), rice flour 2,2 %l, sugar, rapeseed oil, glucose - fructose syrup, wheat starch, apricot puree concentrate 1,8 % (equivalent apricot puree 5 %), acidity regulators (citric acid, malic acid, sodium citrates), concentrated carrot juice, gelling agent (pectins), humectant (glycerol), modified starch, inulin, isomaltulose****, bulking agents (polydextrose, maltitols), thickener (starch), mineral blend (calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, elemental iron), raising agent (sodium carbonates), emulsifier (soya lecithins), salt, wheat gluten, flavourings, dextrose, may contain milk, ****isomaltulose is a source of glucose and fructose, 1 best before: e 250g se opa5131621 03:49

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.

  • E14xx Modified Starch Modified starches (E1400 to E1452) are starches treated physically, with enzymes or chemically so that they thicken and hold up to heating, freezing or acidity better than ordinary starch.
  • 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.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • E965 Maltitol Maltitol is a sugar alcohol made from starch, used as a sweetener in "no added sugar" sweets and chocolate.
  • Bulking agent Bulking agents are substances which contribute to the volume of a foodstuff without contributing significantly to its available energy value.
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  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.
  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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 28 breakfast biscuit

From least to most processed, this one ranks 28th. 82% of the breakfast biscuit 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 28 breakfast biscuit, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7622201447472, last edited 15 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.