Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Helga's Sourdough Bread ultra-processed?

Wholemeal breads Sold in Australia

Pack of Helga's Sourdough Bread

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:

  • 20 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed wholemeal breads

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, water, yeast, soy flour, rye sourdough, canola oil, vinegar, wheat gluten, iodised salt, wheat flour, wheat semolina, vegetable emulsifiers (471, 472e, 481), vitamins, thiamin, folic acid, processing aids (wheat)

Additives: E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate.

As written on the pack

Wheat flour, water, yeast, soy flour, rye sourdough, canola oil, vinegar, wheat gluten, iodised salt, cultured wheat flour, wheat semolina, vegetable emulsifiers (471, 472e, 481), vitamins (thiamin, folic acid), processing aids (wheat)

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.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
1 ingredient 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 102 wholemeal breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 80th. 85% of the wholemeal breads 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 102 wholemeal breads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9310023144676, last edited 6 July 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.