Is it ultra-processed?
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Is LU Petit Écolier dark chocolate 45% COCOA ultra-processed?

Biscuit with a chocolate bar covering Sold in the United States and France

Pack of LU Petit Écolier dark chocolate 45% COCOA

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:

  • 39 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate biscuits

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

Sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, lactose, nonfat milk, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial vanilla flavor), wheat flour, sugar, butterfat, nonfat milk, salt, baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, manufactured on equipment that processes tree nuts.ingrã‰dients (chocolat sucrã‰, sucre), chocolat, beurre de cacao, lactose, lait ã‰crã‰mã‰, matiãˆre grasse du lait, lã‰cithine de soja, arã”me artificiel de vanille, farine de blã‰, sucre, matiãˆre grasse butyrique, lait ã‰crã‰mã‰, sel, agent levant (bicarbonate de sodium, pyrophosphate acide de sodium), contient (lait), soja, blã‰, produit fabriqu㉠sur de l’ã‰quipement transformant des noix

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, lactose, nonfat milk, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial vanilla flavor), wheat flour, sugar, butterfat, nonfat milk, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate). contains: milk, soy, wheat. manufactured on equipment that processes tree nuts.ingrã‰dients : chocolat sucr㉠(sucre, chocolat, beurre de cacao, lactose, lait ã‰crã‰mã‰, matiãˆre grasse du lait, lã‰cithine de soja, arã”me artificiel de vanille), farine de blã‰, sucre, matiãˆre grasse butyrique, lait ã‰crã‰mã‰, sel, agent levant (bicarbonate de sodium, pyrophosphate acide de sodium). contient : lait, soja, blã‰. produit fabriqu㉠sur de l’ã‰quipement transformant des noix.

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.
  • 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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
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.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 16 biscuit with a chocolate bar covering

From least to most processed, this one ranks 3rd. 94% of the biscuit with a chocolate bar covering 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 16 biscuit with a chocolate bar covering, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0694990012503, last edited 15 April 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.