Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Helga's Traditional Wholemeal Bread ultra-processed?

750g Sliced breads Sold in Australia

Pack of Helga's Traditional Wholemeal 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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed sliced 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 64%, water, yeast, rye meal, vinegar, wheat gluten, soy flour, canola oil, iodised salt, wheat bran, wheat flour, vegetable emulsifier (481), vitamins, thiamin, folic acid, processing aids (wheat)

Additives: E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate.

As written on the pack

Wholemeal wheat flour (64%), water, yeast, rye meal, vinegar, wheat gluten, soy flour, canola oil, iodised salt, wheat bran, cultured wheat flour, vegetable emulsifier (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.

  • E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.

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 389 sliced breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 176th. 87% of the sliced 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 389 sliced breads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9310128002499, last edited 10 August 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 A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.