Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Cadbury SNACK! Shortcake ultra-processed?

Chocolate biscuits Sold in Ireland

Pack of Cadbury SNACK! Shortcake

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate biscuits

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

Wheat flour, sugar, palm oil, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, dextrose, whey permeate (from milk), rapeseed oil, milk fat, whey powder, from milk glucose-fructose syrup, molasses, salt, e442, e476, sodium carbonates, ammonium carbonates, flavouring, e40g 7 622210

Additives: E442 Ammonium phosphatides , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E503 Ammonium carbonates

As written on the pack

Wheat flour, sugar, palm oil, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, dextrose, whey permeate (from milk), rapeseed oil, milk fat, whey powder (from milk glucose-fructose syrup, molasses, salt, emulsifiers (E442, E476), raising agents (sodium carbonates, ammonium carbonates), flavouring May contain nuts. e40g 7 622210

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.

  • 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.
  • E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
  • 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.
  • 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 301 chocolate biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 161st. 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 7622210808981, last edited 26 August 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.