Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Little Moons Himalayan Salted Caramel Mochi Ice Cream ultra-processed?

Mochi ice cream Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Little Moons Himalayan Salted Caramel Mochi Ice Cream

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:

  • 35 ingredients
  • 12 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

milk, cream, sugar, rice flour, water, brown sugar, trehalose, caramel paste 2.4% (sugar, glucose syrup, water, colours (plain caramel, beta-carotene, curcumin), thickening agents (carragenaan, pectin), antioxidant (ascorbic acid)), glucose syrup, skimmed milk powder, Himalayan sea salt 0.3%, tapioca flour, emulsifier (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids), stabilisers (guar gum, locust bean gum, cellulose gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum), salt, soya, Trehalose is a source of glucose

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E150a Plain caramel , E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E300 Ascorbic acid , E407 Carrageenan , E410 Locust bean gum , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum , E440 Pectins , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Fresh milk, cream (milk), sugar, rice flour, water, brown sugar, trehalose*, caramel paste 2.4% (sugar, glucose syrup, water, colours (plain caramel, beta-carotene, curcumin), thickening agents (carragenaan, pectin), antioxidant (ascorbic acid)), glucose syrup, skimmed milk powder, Himalayan sea salt (0.3%), tapioca flour, emulsifier (mono and diglycerides of fatty acids), stabilisers (guar gum, locust bean gum, cellulose gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum), salt, soya. *Trehalose is a source of glucose

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • 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.
Show 7 more
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is a thickener made by chemically modifying cellulose from wood or cotton.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.
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.

  • 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.
  • 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 6th. 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 5027324001761, last edited 6 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.