Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Crispy M&Ms Share Bag ultra-processed?

187g Bonbons Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Crispy M&Ms Share Bag

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:

  • 26 ingredients
  • 10 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed bonbons

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 mass, rice flour, skimmed milk powder, cocoa butter, palm kernel fat, palm fat, starch, whey permeate, milk fat, glucose syrup, shea fat, barley malt extract, salt, dextrin, soya lecithin, dextrin, carnauba wax, flavouring, e120, e170, e100, e133, e160a, e160e, palm kernel oil

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E120 Cochineal , E133 Brilliant blue FCF , E1400 Dextrin , E160a Carotene , E160e Beta-apo-8′-carotenal (c30) , E170 Calcium carbonates , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E903 Carnauba wax

As written on the pack

sugar, cocoa mass, rice flour, skimmed milk powder, cocoa butter, palm kernel fat, palm fat, starch, whey permeate (milk), milk fat, glucose syrup, shea fat, barley malt extract, salt, dextrin, emulsifier (soya lecithin), dextrin, glazing agent (carnauba wax), flavouring, colours (E120, E170, E100, E133, E160a, E160e), palm kernel oil

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.

  • E100 Curcumin 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.
  • E120 Cochineal Carmine is a red colour made from cochineal insects.
  • E133 Brilliant blue FCF Brilliant blue FCF is a synthetic blue dye, listed in the US as FD&C Blue No. 1.
  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E160e Beta-apo-8′-carotenal (c30) 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.
Show 4 more
  • E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
  • 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.
  • E903 Carnauba wax Carnauba wax comes from the leaves of a Brazilian palm and gives sweets and coated chocolates their shine.
  • 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.
7 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.

  • Candies Products in the category "Candies" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • 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 193 bonbons

From least to most processed, this one ranks 178th. 94% of the bonbons 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 193 bonbons, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000159570886, 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.