Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lidl Japanese style mochi ultra-processed?

6x35g Mochi ice cream Sold in the United Kingdom and Croatia

Pack of Lidl Japanese style mochi

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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed ice creams and sorbets

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

Water, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Rice Flour, Skimmed Milk Powder, Butter, Trehalose, Rice Starch, Black Sesame Paste (Black Sesame 99.5%, mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Dried Glucose Syrup, Invert Sugar Syrup, mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Sodium Alginate, Carrageenan

Additives: E401 Sodium alginate , E407 Carrageenan , E410 Locust bean gum , E412 Guar gum , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Water, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Rice Flour, Skimmed Milk Powder, Butter (Milk), Trehalose*, Rice Starch, Black Sesame Paste (99.5% Roasted Black Sesame, Emulsifier: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Dried Glucose Syrup, Invert Sugar Syrup, Emulsifier: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids; Thickeners: Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum; Gelling Agents: Sodium Alginate, Carrageenan.

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.

  • E401 Sodium alginate 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.
  • E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.

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.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 8 mochi ice cream

From least to most processed, this one ranks 2nd. 100% of the mochi ice cream 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 8 mochi ice cream, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4056489919094, last edited 3 September 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.