Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Cadbury Starbar ultra-processed?

Chocolates Sold in the United Kingdom, Australia and France

Pack of Cadbury Starbar

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:

  • 30 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolates

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

milk, peanuts, glucose syrup, sugar, vegetable fats (palm, shea), whey powder (from milk), cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, glycerol, rice flour, wheat flour (with added calcium, iron, niacin, thiamin), e442, e471, sunflower lecithin, salt, flavourings, sodium hydrogen carbonate, barley malt syrup, barley malt extract, milk chocolate (milk 14%, contains vegetable fats in addition to cocoa butter)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E422 Glycerol , E442 Ammonium phosphatides , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

milk, peanuts, glucose syrup, sugar, vegetable fats (palm, shea), whey powder (from milk), cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, humectant (glycerol), rice flour, wheat flour (with added calcium, iron, niacin, thiamin), emulsifiers (e442, e471, sunflower lecithin), salt, flavourings, sodium hydrogen carbonate, barley malt syrup, barley malt extract. milk chocolate: milk solids 14 % minimum. contains vegetable fats in addition to cocoa butter.

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.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • 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.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • 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.
  • 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.
6 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.

  • Chocolates Products in the category "Chocolates" are at least group 3.
  • 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 957 chocolates

From least to most processed, this one ranks 918th. 82% of the chocolates 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 957 chocolates, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5034660522775, last edited 29 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.