Is it ultra-processed?
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Is M&S Food Sesame Bagels ultra-processed?

450g Special breads Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of M&S Food Sesame Bagels

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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed special breads

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

Water, Sesame Seeds 9%, Muscovado Sugar, Wheatflour, Wheat Gluten, Corn Grits, Rye Flour, Barley Malt Flour, Salt, Wheat Fibre, Barley Malt Extract, Yeast (Yeast, Vitamin D Yeast), Wheatflour, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), Wheatflakes

Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid

As written on the pack

Wheatflour contains Gluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Sesame Seeds (9%), Muscovado Sugar, Dried Fermented Wheatflour (contains Gluten), Wheat 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), Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), Wheatflakes (contain Gluten).

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 364 special breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 182nd. 76% of the special 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 364 special breads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29296002, 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.