Is it ultra-processed?
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Is M&Ms M&M’s Minis ultra-processed?

35g Bonbons Sold in Australia

Pack of M&Ms M&M’s Minis

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:

  • 40 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed bonbons

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 chocolate 75% (sugar, cocoa mass, skim milk powder, lactose, cocoa butter, vegetable fat (palm, coconui, and shea), milk fat, soy lecithin, salt, natural flavour), sugar, starch (sources include wheat), glucose syrup (sources include wheat), vegetable gum (gum acacia), titanium dioxide, sunset yellow, tartrazine, allura red, brilliant blue, dextrin, carńauba wax, contains permitted flavouring agent, colour, permitted emulsifier from soy, from gum arabic, dextrin, and glazing agent from carnauba wax as permitted food conditioners, milk chocolate contains a minimum of 29% cocoa solids and 21% milk solids, guarantee of satisfaction (if you are not satisfied in any way), please call 1800 245 455 in australia or 0800 444 443 in new zealand, please dispose of this packaging carefully, &quot

Additives: E102 Tartrazine , E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E129 Allura red , E1400 Dextrin , E171 Titanium dioxide , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E414 Acacia gum

As written on the pack

milk chocolate 75% (sugar, cocoa mass, skim milk powder, lactose, cocoa butter, vegetable fat (palm, coconui, and shea), milk fat, emulsifier (soy lecithin), salt, natural flavour), sugar, starch (sources include wheat), glucose syrup (sources include wheat), vegetable gum (gum acacia), colours (titanium dioxide, sunset yellow, tartrazine, allura red, brilliant blue), thickener (dextrin), glazing àgent (carńauba wax). contains permitted flavouring agent and colour, permitted emulsifier from soy, thickeners from gum arabic and dextrin, and glazing agent from carnauba wax as permitted food conditioners. milk chocolate contains a minimum of 29% cocoa solids and 21% milk solids. may be present: peanuts, treenuts, barley. guarantee of satisfaction: if you are not satisfied in any way, please call 1800 245 455 in australia or 0800 444 443 in new zealand. please dispose of this packaging carefully. &quot

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).
  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • E171 Titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide is a white pigment.
  • 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.
Show 3 more
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
6 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 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.
  • 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 193 bonbons

From least to most processed, this one ranks 164th. 94% of the bonbons 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 193 bonbons, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9300682050685, last edited 16 September 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.