Is By Sainsbury's Blueberry Muffins ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 24 ingredients
- 5 additives
- Nutri-Score D
Less processed fruit muffins
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Fortified British Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar (processing marker), Rapeseed Oil, Blueberries 12%, Water, Whole Egg, Whey Powder (ultra-processing marker) (Cows Milk), Cornflour, Wheat Starch (processing marker), Raising Agents (Diphosphates (ultra-processing marker)), Potassium Hydrogen Carbonate (Cows' Milk Proteins), Humectant (ultra-processing marker) (Vegetable Glycerine (ultra-processing marker)), Flavourings (ultra-processing marker), Preservative (processing marker) (Potassium Sorbate (processing marker))
Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E422 Glycerol , E450 Diphosphates , E501 Potassium carbonates , E501ii Potassium hydrogen carbonate
As written on the pack
Fortified British Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Blueberries (12%), Water, Pasteurised Whole Egg, Whey Powder (Cows Milk), Cornflour, Wheat Starch, Raising Agents: Diphosphates, Potassium Hydrogen Carbonate: Cows' Milk Proteins, Humectant: Vegetable Glycerine; Flavourings, 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.
- E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
- E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
- Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
5 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.
- 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.
Among 8 fruit muffins
From least to most processed, this one ranks 4th. 75% of the fruit muffins here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01142273, 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.