Is Hershey's Special dark mildly sweet chocolate ultra-processed?

Dark chocolates Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
E322 Lecithins
E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate

8 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed dark chocolates

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

sugar (processing marker), chocolate, cocoa butter, milk fat, cocoa processed with alkali, lecithin (ultra-processing marker), pgpr (ultra-processing marker), natural flavor (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate

As written on the pack

SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, MILK FAT, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, LECITHIN (SOY), PGPR, NATURAL FLAVOR

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.
E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

3 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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 400 dark chocolates

From least to most processed, this one ranks 357th. 69% of the dark chocolates 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 400 dark chocolates, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0034000195411, last edited 20 December 2025), 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.