Is M&S Food 5 Plain Bagels ultra-processed?

5 Bagels (425g) Bagel breads Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Gluten
Vegetable fiber

23 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score B

Less processed bagel breads

New York Bakery Co The Original Plain Bagels New York Bakery Co 17 ingredients · 2 additives NOVA group 3
Sourdough bagels Fitzgeralds Sourdough Bagels 26 ingredients · 3 additives NOVA group 3
Original Thin Bagels Warburtons 19 ingredients · 2 additives NOVA group 3
NYC Bagels New York Bakery 20 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3

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

WheatflourGluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Muscovado Sugar (processing marker), Wheat Gluten (ultra-processing marker), Wheatflour, Corn Grits, Rye Flour, Barley Malt Flour, Salt (processing marker), Wheat Fibre (ultra-processing marker), Barley Malt Extract, Yeast (Yeast, Vitamin D Yeast), Wheatflour, Wheatflakes, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid)

Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid

As written on the pack

WheatflourGluten(with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Muscovado Sugar, Wheat Gluten, Dried Fermented Wheatflour (contains Gluten), Corn Grits, Rye Flour (contains Gluten), Barley Malt Flour (contains Gluten), Salt, Wheat Fibre (contains Gluten), Barley Malt Extract (contains Gluten), Yeast (Yeast, Vitamin D Yeast), Wholegrain Wheatflour (contains Gluten), Wheatflakes (contain Gluten), Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid

What makes it ultra-processed

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.
Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.

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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 91 bagel breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 47th. 79% of the bagel breads 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 91 bagel breads, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29295982, last edited 20 May 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.