Is Dorset cereals Porridge Simply Vanilla Flavour ultra-processed?

Porridge Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Dextrose
Flavouring
Gelling agent
Glucose
Vegetable fiber
E440 Pectins

11 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score B

Less processed porridge

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

OAT flakes 79.38144329896907%, vanilla flavour (ultra-processing marker) 20.61855670103093% (sugar (processing marker), dextrose (ultra-processing marker), lemon juice concentrate, OAT fibre (ultra-processing marker), gelling agent (ultra-processing marker) (pectin (ultra-processing marker)), natural flavouring, acidity regulator (potassium citrate))

Additives: E332 Potassium citrates , E332ii Tripotassium citrate , E440 Pectins

As written on the pack

Wholegrain OAT flakes (77%), vanilla flavour pieces (20%) (sugar, dextrose, lemon juice concentrate, OAT fibre, gelling agent (pectin), natural flavouring, acidity regulator (potassium citrate)).

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.

E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.

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.
Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.

1 ingredient that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 160 porridge

From least to most processed, this one ranks 158th. 57% of the porridge 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 160 porridge, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5018357804726, 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.
NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.