Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Cow & Gate Banana porridge ultra-processed?

Breakfast cereals Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Cow & Gate Banana porridge

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 2 additives

Less processed breakfast cereals

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

skimmed milk powder, milled corn 20%, banana 16%, milled rice 14%, demineralised whey (from milk), vegetable fat (sunflower oil, coconut oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil, emulsifier (soy lecithin)), minerals (iodine, iron, calcium), vitamins, vitamins, vitamin b1, vitamin b6, biotin, vitamins, vitamin d3, vitamin a, vitamin e, vitamin c

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

skimmed milk powder, milled corn (20%), banana flakes (16%), milled rice (14%), demineralised whey powder (from milk), vegetable fat (sunflower oil, coconut oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil, emulsifier (soy lecithin)), minerals (iodine, iron, calcium), vitamins (vitamin b1, vitamin b6, biotin, vitamin d3, vitamin a, vitamin e, vitamin c)

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.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.
3 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.

  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • 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 1,869 breakfast cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1569th. 60% of the breakfast cereals 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 1,869 breakfast cereals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 3041091431998, 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.