Is farley's reduced sugar rusks ultra-processed?

150g Biscuits 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
Emulsifier
Glucose

18 ingredients
1 additive

Less processed biscuits

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

Wheat Flour, Maize Flour, Sugar (processing marker), Wheat Starch (processing marker), Palm Oil, Dextrose (ultra-processing marker), Raising Agents (Ammonium Carbonates), Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (Monoglycerides), Niacin, Iron, Thiamin, Riboflavin, vitamins, vitamin A, Vitamin D

Additives: E503 Ammonium carbonates

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour, Maize Flour, Sugar, Wheat Starch, Palm Oil, Dextrose, Raising Agents (Ammonium Carbonates), Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifier (Monoglycerides), Niacin, Iron, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin A, Vitamin D

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.

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.

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.

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.

Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 618th. 83% of the biscuits 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 1,514 biscuits, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000218005656, 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.