Is it ultra-processed?
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Is M&M's Fudge Brownie ultra-processed?

256.6 g Chocolate candies Sold in the United States

Pack of M&M's Fudge Brownie

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:

  • 30 ingredients
  • 9 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate candies

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

semisweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, skim milk, soy lecithin), sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, chocolate, skim milk, cornstarch, milkfat, lactose, dextrin, salt, coloring (blue 1 lake, yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1), carnauba wax, artificial flavor, chocolate, gum acacia, milk, soy

Additives: E102 Tartrazine , E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E129 Allura red , E133 Brilliant blue FCF , E1400 Dextrin , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E414 Acacia gum , E903 Carnauba wax

As written on the pack

semisweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate processed with alkali, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, skim milk, soy lecithin), sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, chocolate processed with alkali, skim milk, cornstarch,milkfat, lactose, dextrin, salt, coloring (blue 1 lake, yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1), carnauba wax, artificial flavor, chocolate, gum acacia, milk , soy

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).
  • E110 Sunset yellow FCF Sunset yellow FCF is a synthetic orange azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 6 in the US).
  • E129 Allura red Allura red AC is a synthetic red azo dye (FD&C Red No. 40 in the US).
  • E133 Brilliant blue FCF Brilliant blue FCF is a synthetic blue dye, listed in the US as FD&C Blue No. 1.
  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • 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.
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  • E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
  • E903 Carnauba wax Carnauba wax comes from the leaves of a Brazilian palm and gives sweets and coated chocolates their shine.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 776 chocolate candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 714th. 91% of the chocolate candies 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 776 chocolate candies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0040000555452, last edited 30 May 2023), 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.