Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Horlicks INSTANT hot malty goodness ultra-processed?

Instant beverages Sold in the United Kingdom

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:

  • 30 ingredients
  • 3 additives

Less processed instant beverages

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 30% (Wheat Flour, Wheat), Skimmed Milk, Malted Barley 22%, Whey, Sugar, Calcium Carbonate, Palm Oil, Anti-caking Agent (e551), Salt, Stabilisers (Guar Gum), e466, Vitamin Mix (vitamins, vitamin C, Niacin, Vitamin E, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Folic Acid, E Biotin, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12), Ferric Pyrophosphate, Zinc Oxide

Additives: E412 Guar gum , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , E551 Silicon dioxide

As written on the pack

Wheat 30% (Wheat Flour and Malted Wheat), Dried Skimmed Milk, Malted Barley 22%, Dried Whey (Milk), Sugar, Calcium Carbonate, Palm Oil, Anti-caking Agent (E551), Salt, Stabilisers Guar Gum, E466), Vitamin Mix (Vitamin C, Niacin, Vitamin E, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Folic Acid, E Biotin, Vitamin D. Vitamin B12), 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.

  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is a thickener made by chemically modifying cellulose from wood or cotton.
  • 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.

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.

  • 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.

  • Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 197 instant beverages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 143rd. 57% of the instant beverages 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 197 instant beverages, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5060113919366, last edited 7 April 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.