Is Hershey's Syrup ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- Flavouring
- Glucose
- High fructose corn syrup
- Fructose
- E415 Xanthan gum
- E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate
- and 1 more
- 12 ingredients
- 4 additives
- Nutri-Score D
Less processed chocolate sauce
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
high fructose corn syrup (ultra-processing marker), corn syrup (ultra-processing marker), water, cocoa, sugar (processing marker), potassium sorbate (processing marker), xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), mono- and DIGLYCERIDES (ultra-processing marker), polysorbate 60 (ultra-processing marker), vanillin, artificial flavor (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E415 Xanthan gum , E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
As written on the pack
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP, WATER, COCOA, SUGAR, POTASSIUM SORBATE, XANTHAN GUM, SALT, MONO-AND DIGLYCERIDES, POLYSORBATE 60, VANILLIN, ARTIFICIAL 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.
- E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
- E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate 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.
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
- 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.
- High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
- Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.
- E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Among 16 chocolate sauce
From least to most processed, this one ranks 14th. 75% of the chocolate sauce here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 03404700, last edited 6 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 D (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.