Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Ben & Jerry's Lighten Up Chocolate Cookie Dough ultra-processed?

465ml Ice cream tubs Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Ben & Jerry's Lighten Up Chocolate Cookie Dough

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed ice cream tubs

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

skimmed MILK, sugar, skimmed MILK, WHEAT flour, soluble corn fibre, cream, cocoa powder 5%, brown sugar, free range EGG yolk, butter, fully refined soybean oil, free range EGG, cocoa mass, water, molasses, stabilisers (guar gum, locust bean gum), cocoa butter, vanilla extract, salt, emulsifier (SOY lecithins)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E410 Locust bean gum , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

Reconstituted skimmed MILK, sugar, condensed skimmed MILK, WHEAT flour, soluble corn fibre, cream (MILK), cocoa powder (5%), brown sugar, free range EGG yolk, butter (MILK), fully refined soybean oil, free range EGG, cocoa mass, water, molasses, stabilisers (guar gum, locust bean gum), cocoa butter, vanilla extract, salt, emulsifier (SOY lecithins).

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.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.

  • 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.

  • Ice creams Products in the category "Ice creams" are at least group 3.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 147 ice cream tubs

From least to most processed, this one ranks 56th. 90% of the ice cream tubs 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 147 ice cream tubs, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8711327590311, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.