Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lidl Scotch Pancakes ultra-processed?

180 g Pancakes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Lidl Scotch Pancakes

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed pancakes

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

Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Sugar, Golden Syrup 7%, Rapeseed Oil, Egg, Whey Powder, Raising Agents (Diphosphates), Sodium Carbonates, Salt, Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate), Calcium Propionate, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E282 Calcium propionate , E330 Citric acid , E450 Diphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates

As written on the pack

Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Sugar, 7% Golden Syrup, Rapeseed Oil, Egg, Whey Powder (Milk), Raising Agents: Diphosphates, Sodium Carbonates; Salt, Preservatives: Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Propionate; Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid.

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.

  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.

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.

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

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 55 pancakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 40th. 85% of the pancakes 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 55 pancakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 20057992, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.