Is Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Sea Salt 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:
- 23 ingredients
- 3 additives
- Nutri-Score E
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dark chocolate coconut minis
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NOVA group
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Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Sugar (processing marker), chocolate, corn syrup (ultra-processing marker), sweetened Condensed milk (milk, sugar (processing marker)), palm oil, cocoa butter (processing marker), milk fat, butter (processing marker) (cream, salt (processing marker)), sea salt (processing marker), soy lecithin (ultra-processing marker), sodium citrate, natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), oregano, flaxseed, plum, and green tea (to preserve freshness), salt (processing marker), vanilla extract
Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E331 Sodium citrates
As written on the pack
Sugar, unsweetened chocolate, corn syrup, sweetened Condensed milk (milk, sugar), palm oil. cocoa butter, milk fat, butter(cream. salt), sea salt. soy lecithin, sodium citrate, natural flavor. extracts of oregano, flaxseed, plum, and green tea (to preserve freshness). salt, vanilla extract. May contain tree nuts.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
6 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.
- Chocolates Products in the category "Chocolates" are at least group 3.
- Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
- 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.
Among 776 chocolate candies
From least to most processed, this one ranks 335th. 91% of the chocolate candies here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0747599409967, last edited 2 October 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.