Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Lyons Viscount Biscuits ultra-processed?

Biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Lyons Viscount Biscuits

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:

  • 36 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed 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

wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, niacin, iron, thiamin), chocolate coating 31% (sugar, vegetable fats (sustainable palm kernel, sustainable palm, shea), whey, fat reduced cocoa powder, emulsifiers (soya lecithin, e476)), mint flavoured filling 17% (sugar, sustainable palm oil, peppermint oil, emulsifier (soya lecithin)), vegetable oils (sustainable palm, rapeseed), sugar, glucose syrup, whey, whey derivatives, raising agents (sodium bicarbonate, disodium diphosphate), emulsifier (soya lecithin), salt

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, niacin, iron, thiamin), chocolate flavoured coating (31%) (sugar, vegetable fats (sustainable palm kernel, sustainable palm, shea), dried whey (milk), fat reduced cocoa powder, emulsifiers (soya lecithin, e476)), mint flavoured filling (17%) (sugar, sustainable palm oil, peppermint oil, emulsifier (soya lecithin)), vegetable oils (sustainable palm, rapeseed), sugar, glucose syrup, whey or whey derivatives (milk), raising agents (sodium bicarbonate, disodium diphosphate), emulsifier (soya lecithin), salt.

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.
  • E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1285th. 83% of the biscuits 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 1,514 biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0072417141003, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.