Is Hovis 4 Seed Sensations Bread ultra-processed?

400 g Sliced breads Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

32 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score B

Less processed sliced breads

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 flour (with added calcium, iron, niacin, thiamin), water, seed mix 13% (contains (brown linseed), sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, millet seeds, golden linseed, poppy seeds), wheat protein, yeast, salt (processing marker), vinegar, soya flour, caramelised sugar (processing marker), malted barley flour, barley flour, e282, e472e (ultra-processing marker), vegetable fat (processing marker) (rapeseed, palm), barley fibre, ascorbic acid, wheat starch (processing marker), nutrition information allergy advice

Additives: E282 Calcium propionate , E300 Ascorbic acid , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

wheat flour (with added calcium, iron, niacin, thiamin), water, seed mix (13%) (contains: toasted brown linseed, toasted sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, millet seeds, golden linseed, poppy seeds), wheat protein, yeast, salt, vinegar, soya flour, caramelised sugar, malted barley flour, barley flour, preservative: e282, emulsifier: e472e, vegetable fat (rapeseed, palm), barley fibre, flour treatment agent: ascorbic acid, wheat starch. nutrition information allergy advice: for allergens

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.

E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids 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.

4 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 fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 389 sliced breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 159th. 87% of the sliced breads 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 389 sliced breads, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010003064768, last edited 25 February 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.