Is Essential Waitrose Malted Wheats ultra-processed?

750g Extruded cereals 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:

Invert sugar

18 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed extruded 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

Whole wheat, sugar (processing marker), invert sugar syrup (ultra-processing marker), barley malt extract, salt (processing marker), niacin, iron, vitamins, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, vitamin B5, vitamin D, thiamin, vitamin B1, riboflavin, vitamin B2, folic acid, vitamin B6

As written on the pack

Whole wheat, sugar, invert sugar syrup, barley malt extract, salt, niacin, iron, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid (B5), vitamin D, thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), folic acid, vitamin B6

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.

2 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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 373 extruded cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 159th. 64% of the extruded 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 373 extruded cereals, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169632727, 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.