Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Horlicks Chocolate Malt ultra-processed?

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Pack of Horlicks Chocolate Malt

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:

  • 37 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

wheat 20% (wheat flour, wheat), Sugar, Malted Barley 18%, Skimmed Milk, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder 6.6%, Whey, Vegatable Oil (Coconut oil, Palm Oil), Calcium Carbonate, Dried Glucose Strup, Anti-Caking Agen (e551), Salt, Milk Proteins, Stabilisers (e340ii, e452i), Vitamin Mix, vitamins, vitamin C, Niacin, Vitamin E, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Emulsifier (e471), Ferric Pyrophosphate, Zinc Oxide

Additives: E340 Potassium phosphates , E340ii Dipotassium phosphate , E452 Polyphosphates , E452i Sodium polyphosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E551 Silicon dioxide

As written on the pack

wheat 20% (wheat flour and malted wheat), Sugar, Malted Barley 18%, Dried Skimmed Milk, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder 6.6%, Dried Whey (Milk), Vegatable Oil (Coconut oil, Palm Oil), Calcium Carbonate, Dried Glucose Strup, Anti-Caking Agen (E551), Salt, Milk Proteins, Stabilisers (E340ii, E452i), Vitamin Mix (Vitamin C, Niacin, Vitamin E, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12), Emulsifier (E471), Ferric Pyrophosphate, Zinc Oxide.

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.

  • E452 Polyphosphates 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.
  • E551 Silicon dioxide A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.

  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5060113919373, last edited 27 March 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.