Is belVita BREAKFAST Cocoa with choc chips ultra-processed?

225g Chocolate biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom, France and Portugal

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Dextrose
Flavouring
Glucose
E322 Lecithins
E450 Diphosphates
E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
and 1 more

35 ingredients
10 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed chocolate biscuits

Choco Chip Biscuits Gullón 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 3
Chocolate Gingers Island Bakery 22 ingredients · 2 additives NOVA group 3
Oat Crumbles Island Bakery 14 ingredients · 2 additives NOVA group 3
Duchy Organic Stem Ginger Biscuits Coated in Dark Chocolate Duchy Organic 20 ingredients · 2 additives NOVA group 3

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 56.6% (cereals 38.5% (wheat flour 19.4%, oat flakes 8.5%, barley flour 6.2%, rye flour 3.4%, spelt flour 1% (wheat)), wheat flour 18.1%), sugar (processing marker), chocolate chips 12.3% sugar, cocoa mass, vegetable oils (processing marker) (palm, shea (processing marker)), dextrose (ultra-processing marker), cocoa butter (processing marker), soya lecithin (ultra-processing marker), l, rapeseed oil, fat reduced cocoa powder 3%, wheat starch (processing marker), ammonium hydrogen carbonate, disodium diphosphate (ultra-processing marker), sodium hydrogen carbonate, minerals (calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, elemental iron), e492 (ultra-processing marker), soya lecithin (ultra-processing marker), e472e (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), skimmed milk powder (processing marker), flavourings (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E492 Sorbitan tristearate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

cereals 56,6 % [wholegrain cereals 38,5 % (wholegrain wheat flour 19,4 %, oat flakes 8,5 %, wholegrain barley flour 6,2 %, wholegrain rye flour 3,4%, wholegrain spelt flour (wheat) 1 %), wheat flour 18,1 %], sugar, chocolate chips 12,3 % sugar, cocoa mass, vegetable oils (palm, shea, in varying proportions), dextrose, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin)l, rapeseed oil, fat reduced cocoa powder 3 %, wheat starch, raising agents (ammonium hydrogen carbonate, disodium diphosphate, sodium hydrogen carbonate), minerals (calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, elemental iron), emulsifiers (e492, soya lecithin, e472e), salt, skimmed milk powder, flavourings,

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.
E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids 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.
E492 Sorbitan tristearate 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.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

7 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.
Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
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 301 chocolate biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 240th. 95% of the chocolate biscuits 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 301 chocolate biscuits, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7622210740427, last edited 14 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 D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.