Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Hillcrest Premium Nut Bars Almonds, Cashews & Cranberries ultra-processed?

Fruits Sold in Australia

Pack of Hillcrest Premium Nut Bars Almonds, Cashews & Cranberries

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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 14 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed fruits

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

glucose syrup, sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil (contains antioxidant (307)), thickener (1401), humectant (422), food acid (citric acid), gelatine, flavour, colours (120, 100, 133, 160a, 171), glazing agent (903, 904), emulsifier (soy lecithin), salt, wheat starch (cashew, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, walnut), milk, soy

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E120 Cochineal , E133 Brilliant blue FCF , E1401 Acid-treated modified starch , E160a Carotene , E171 Titanium dioxide , E307 Alpha-tocopherol , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E422 Glycerol , E428 Gelatine , E903 Carnauba wax , E904 Shellac

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E100 Curcumin, E120 Cochineal, E133 Brilliant blue FCF, E1401 Acid-treated modified starch, E160a Carotene, E171 Titanium dioxide, E422 Glycerol, E903 Carnauba wax, E904 Shellac.

As written on the pack

glucose syrup, sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil (contains antioxidant [307]), thickener (1401), humectant (422), food acid (citric acid), gelatine, flavour, colours (120, 100, 133, 160a, 171), glazing agent (903, 904), emulsifier (soy lecithin), salt, wheat starch, contains gluten, may contain traces of tree nuts (cashew, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, walnut), milk, soy

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.

  • E100 Curcumin 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.
  • E120 Cochineal Carmine is a red colour made from cochineal insects.
  • E133 Brilliant blue FCF Brilliant blue FCF is a synthetic blue dye, listed in the US as FD&C Blue No. 1.
  • E1401 Acid-treated modified starch A food additive authorised for industrial food production.
  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E171 Titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide is a white pigment.
Show 11 more
  • 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.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
  • E903 Carnauba wax Carnauba wax comes from the leaves of a Brazilian palm and gives sweets and coated chocolates their shine.
  • E904 Shellac Shellac is a resin secreted by lac insects, used as a glazing agent on sweets, coated chocolates and fruit.
  • 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.
  • Glazing agent Glazing agents, waxes and shellac for example, coat a surface to make it shiny or stop pieces sticking together.
  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
5 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 453 fruits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 453rd. 13% of the fruits 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 453 fruits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088700238523, last edited 17 January 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.