Is Gain Bar (Lidl) Salted Caramel ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 28 ingredients
- 3 additives
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Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
couverture milk choco ouring, humectant (ultra-processing marker) (glycerol (ultra-processing marker)), caramel flavour filling (hum conut oil, skimmed milk powder (processing marker), modified maize starch (ultra-processing marker), water, colour (ultra-processing marker) (plain caramel (ultra-processing marker)), gelling agent mulsifier (rapeseed lecithins (ultra-processing marker)), natural flavourings (ultra-processing marker), sait, thickener (ultra-processing marker) (kanthan gum)), soluble tapioca fibre, sweeteners m water, natural flavouring (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), couverture milk chocolate contains, cocoa solids 33%, milk solids 20% mini dvice for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ts in bold, ontaining gluten, on information typical values per (energy 1280kj)
Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E322 Lecithins , E422 Glycerol
As written on the pack
couverture milk choco ouring), humectant: glycerol, caramel flavour filling (hum conut oil, skimmed milk powder, modified maize starch, water, colour: plain caramel, gelling agent mulsifier: rapeseed lecithins, natural flavourings, sait, thickener: kanthan gum), soluble tapioca fibre, sweeteners m water, natural flavouring, salt, couverture milk chocolate contains, cocoa solids 33% minimum, milk solids 20% mini dvice for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ts in bold, may also contain nuts, peanuts, sulphites and other ontaining gluten, on information typical values per 100g: energy 1280kj/
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.
- E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
- 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.
- E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
- Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
- Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
- Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.
Show 2 more
- Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.
- Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.
4 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.
- Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
- 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.
Among 426 protein bars
From least to most processed, this one ranks 299th. 93% of the protein bars here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4335619125421, last edited 1 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.