Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Cadbury Chocolate Drink-Instant ultra-processed?

28 g Instant chocolate powders Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Cadbury Chocolate Drink-Instant

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:

  • 32 ingredients
  • 7 additives

Less processed instant chocolate powders

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

Sugar, Cocoa Powder 13%, Whey Powder (From Milk), Glucose Syrup, Skimmed Milk Powder, Coconut Fat, Milk Chocolate 4% (Whole Milk, Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea In Various Proportions), e442, Sunflower Lecithin, Flavours), Palm Fat, Salt, e466, Milk Proteins, e551, Flavours, e471, e339, Cocoa, Sugar (Traded In Compliance With Fairtrade Standards), Total 56%, Visit Www.Info.Fairtrade.Net Http (Www.Info.Fairtrade.Net)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E339 Sodium phosphates , E442 Ammonium phosphatides , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E551 Silicon dioxide

As written on the pack

Sugar, Cocoa Powder 13%, Whey Powder (From Milk), Glucose Syrup, Skimmed Milk Powder, Coconut Fat, Milk Chocolate 4% [ Whole Milk , Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Vegetable Fats ( Palm And Shea In Various Proportions), Emulsifiers (E442, Sunflower Lecithin), Flavours], Palm Fat, Salt, Thickener (E466), Milk Proteins, Anti-Caking Agent (E551), Flavours, Emulsifier (E471), Stabiliser (E339).Cocoa, Sugar: Traded In Compliance With Fairtrade Standards, Total 56%. Visit Www.Info.Fairtrade.Net Http://Www.Info.Fairtrade.Net.

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.
  • E442 Ammonium phosphatides 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.
  • E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is a thickener made by chemically modifying cellulose from wood or cotton.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E551 Silicon dioxide A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • 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.
  • 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 51 instant chocolate powders

From least to most processed, this one ranks 42nd. 88% of the instant chocolate powders 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 51 instant chocolate powders, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 96033180, last edited 8 July 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.