Is Little Debbie Swiss Rolls ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 38 ingredients
- 11 additives
- Nutri-Score E
Less processed chocolate cakes
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
sugar (processing marker), corn syrup (ultra-processing marker), water, flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin b1), riboflavin, folic acid), palm, soybean oils with tbhq and citric acid to protect flavor, dextrose (ultra-processing marker), palm and palm kernel oil, contains 2% and less of each of the following (soy flour), cocoa, soybean oil (processing marker), eggs, corn starch (processing marker), whey (ultra-processing marker), leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate), salt (processing marker), sorbitan monostearate (ultra-processing marker), colors (ultra-processing marker) (yellow 5 (ultra-processing marker), red 40 (ultra-processing marker), blue1), sorbic acid (to preserve freshness), polysorbate 60 (ultra-processing marker), soy lecithin (ultra-processing marker), mono- and diglycerides (ultra-processing marker), egg whites, natural and artificial flavors (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E102 Tartrazine , E129 Allura red , E200 Sorbic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E491 Sorbitan monostearate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E541 Sodium aluminium phosphate
As written on the pack
sugar, corn syrup, water, enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate [vitamin b1], riboflavin [vitamin b2], folic acid), palm and soybean oils with tbhq and citric acid to protect flavor, dextrose, palm and palm kernel oil, contains 2% or less of each of the following: soy flour, cocoa, soybean oil, eggs, corn starch, whey (milk), leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate), salt, sorbitan monostearate, colors (yellow 5, red 40, blue1), sorbic acid (to preserve freshness), polysorbate 60, soy lecithin, mono - and diglycerides, egg whites, natural and artificial flavors,
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.
- E102 Tartrazine Tartrazine is a synthetic yellow azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 5 in the US).
- E129 Allura red Allura red AC is a synthetic red azo dye (FD&C Red No. 40 in the US).
- 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.
- E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate 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.
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
- E491 Sorbitan monostearate 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.
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- Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
- 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.
- Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
- Glucose Glucose, usually listed as 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.
5 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 oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
- Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
Among 67 chocolate cakes
From least to most processed, this one ranks 57th. 97% of the chocolate cakes here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0024300041303, last edited 18 December 2025), 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.