Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Glico Pocky chocolate covered biscuit sticks ultra-processed?

1.37 oz (39 g) Biscuits Sold in the United States

Pack of Glico Pocky chocolate covered biscuit sticks

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 33 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

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, sugar, almond, whole milk powder, vegetable oil (contains one and more of the following (illipe butter), sal butter, shea butter, and interesterified palm oil), chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, shortening (interesterified vegetable oil (contains one and more of the following (coconut oil), palm oil, and canola oil), emulsifier (soy lecithin, sucrose fatty acid esters)), wheat protein, salt, emulsifier (soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate), butter, yeast, artificial flavor, coloring (annatto), leavening (sodium bicarbonate)

Additives: E160b Annatto , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Wheat flour, sugar, almond, whole milk powder, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following : illipe butter, sal butter, shea butter, or interesterified palm oil), chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, shortening (interesterified vegetable oil [contains one or more of the following: coconut oil, palm oil, or canola oil], emulsifier [soy lecithin, sucrose fatty acid esters]), wheat protein, salt, emulsifier (soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate), butter, yeast, artificial flavor, coloring (annatto), leavening (sodium bicarbonate).

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.

  • E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of 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.
  • E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
7 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.

  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1172nd. 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 0073141152310, last edited 10 February 2022), 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.