Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kellogg's Squares ultra-processed?

Cereal bars Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Kellogg's Squares

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:

  • 32 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed cereal bars

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

Kellogg's Toasted Rice Cereal 35%, Rice, Sugar, Salt, Barley Malt Extract, Niacin, Iron, vitamins, vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Marshmallow 33% (Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Beef Gelatin, Flavouring), Fructose, Palm Oil, Invert Sugar Syrup, Glucose Syrup, Humectant (Glycerol), Salt, Flavouring, Emulsifiers (e472e, e472a), Antioxidant (e320)

Additives: E320 Butylated hydroxyanisole (bha) , E422 Glycerol , E428 Gelatine , E472a Acetic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Kellogg's Toasted Rice Cereal (35%) (Rice, Sugar, Salt, Barley Malt Extract, Niacin, Iron, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12), Marshmallow (33%) (Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Beef Gelatin, Flavouring), Fructose, Palm Oil, Invert Sugar Syrup, Glucose Syrup, Humectant (Glycerol), Salt, Flavouring (contains Milk), Emulsifiers (E472e, E472a), Antioxidant (E320)

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.

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  • 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.

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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 487 cereal bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 442nd. 91% of the cereal bars 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 487 cereal bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5050083451751, 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.