Is it ultra-processed?
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Is M&S Food 4 Spinach and Herb Pancakes ultra-processed?

280g Pancakes Sold in the United Kingdom

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed pancakes

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

Wheatflour, Buttermilk 26%, Egg, Rapeseed Oil, Humectant (Glycerol), Spinach 5%, Buttermilk, Raising Agent (e450), Sodium Bicarbonate, e509, Parsley, Wheatflour, Wheat Gluten, Chives, Rowan Extract, Basil, Salt, White Pepper, Spirulina Concentrate, Safflower Concentrate, Cracked Black Pepper, Tapioca Starch

Additives: E422 Glycerol , E450 Diphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E509 Calcium chloride

As written on the pack

Wheatflour, Reconstituted Buttermilk (26%), Pasteurised Egg, Rapeseed Oil, Humectant: Glycerol, Spinach (5%), Dried Buttermilk, Raising Agent: E450, Sodium Bicarbonate, E509, Parsley, Dried Fermented Wheatflour, Wheat Gluten, Chives, Rowan Extract, Basil, Salt, Ground White Pepper, Spirulina Concentrate, Safflower Concentrate, Cracked Black Pepper, Tapioca Starch

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.

  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
2 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 55 pancakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 46th. 85% of the pancakes 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 55 pancakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29439935, 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.
  • 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.