Is M&S Oat Crunch ultra-processed?

Plain rolled oats biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

It's processed, but not ultra-processed

Whole foods combined with:

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Rolled Oats 46%, Wheatflour Palm Oil Light Brown Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate), e503, Salt (processing marker)

Additives: E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates

As written on the pack

Rolled Oats (46%) Wholemeal Wheatflour Palm Oil Light Brown Sugar. Invert Sugar Syrup Raising Agent: Sodium Bicarbonate, E503 . Salt.

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

Open Food Facts puts every product in this category in at least this group.

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1st. 88% of the plain rolled oats biscuits 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.

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29436156, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.