Is KitKat Dark ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 23 ingredients
- 3 additives
Less processed chocolate candies
-
Dark milk chocolate with blood orange
Marks & Spencer
6 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
3
-
Dark Chocolate
Waitrose & Partners
3 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
3
-
Almond Butter & Salted Caramel Cups
Deliciously Ella
12 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
3
-
chocolate orange dipped almonds
Deliciously Ella
7 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
3
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
sugar (processing marker), cocoa mass, WHEAT flour (contains calcium, iron, thiamin, niacin), vegetable fats (processing marker) (palm, palm kernel, shea, sal), cocoa butter (processing marker), butterfat, lecithins (ultra-processing marker), whole MILK powder (processing marker), whey product (ultra-processing marker), yeast, sodium bicarbonate, skimmed MILK powder (processing marker), glucose syrup (ultra-processing marker), whey powder (ultra-processing marker), flavourings (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E322 Lecithins , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate
As written on the pack
sugar, cocoa mass, WHEAT flour (contains calcium, iron, thiamin and niacin), vegetable fats (palm, palm kernel, shea, sal), cocoa butter, butterfat (MILK), emulsifier (lecithins), whole MILK powder, whey powder product (MILK), yeast, raising agent (sodium bicarbonate), skimmed MILK powder, glucose syrup, whey powder (MILK), flavourings.
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.
- 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.
- Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
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.
- 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.
- Whey product An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
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.
- 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.
- Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
- Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.
Among 773 chocolate candies
From least to most processed, this one ranks 532nd. 91% of the chocolate candies here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8445290553409, last edited 11 August 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.
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.