Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Co Op Free From Angel Cakes ultra-processed?

Cakes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Co Op Free From Angel Cakes

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:

  • 29 ingredients
  • 9 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed cakes

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

CO A pink and yellow sponge sandwich with vanilla flavour op frosting topped with a white icing and pink drizzle icing, Ingredients Sugar, Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed Vegetable Oils, Palm Vegetable Oils, Palm Vegetable Oils), Kernel, Coconut, Egg, Rice Flour, Glycerol-Vegetable, Tapioca Starch, Glucose Syrup, Water, Invert Sugar Syrup, Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate, Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids-Vegetable, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids-Vegetable, Lecithins, Disodium diphosphate, Sodium hydrogen carbonate, Flavourings, Concentrates (Sweet Potato, Beetroot), Faba Bean Protein, Xanthan gum, Potassium sorbate, Lutein

Additives: E161b Lutein , E202 Potassium sorbate , E322 Lecithins , E415 Xanthan gum , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

CO A pink and yellow sponge sandwich with vanilla flavour op frosting topped with a white icing and pink drizzle icing. Ingredients Sugar, Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed, Palm, Palm Kernel, Coconut), Egg, Rice Flour, Humectant (Glycerol-Vegetable), Tapioca Starch, Glucose Syrup, Water, Invert Sugar Syrup, Emulsifiers (Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate, Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids-Vegetable, Mono - and diglycerides of fatty acids-Vegetable, Lecithins), Raising Agents (Disodium diphosphate, Sodium hydrogen carbonate), Flavourings, Concentrates (Sweet Potato, Beetroot), Faba Bean Protein, Thickener (Xanthan gum), Preservative (Potassium sorbate), Colour (Lutein). Allergy Advice

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.

  • E161b Lutein Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of 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.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate 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.
  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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.

  • 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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 377 cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 252nd. 94% of the cakes 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 377 cakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000129353037, last edited 29 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.