Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Maltesers Teasers ultra-processed?

35 g Chocolate candies Sold in Ireland, France and Switzerland

Pack of Maltesers Teasers

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

Less processed chocolate candies

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

Crunchy little Maltesers® pieces floating in creamy milk chocolate GB IRL Milk chocolate with honeycombed pieces 11%, Ingredients (sugar), cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, cocoa mass, glucose syrup, palm fat, lactose, protein from whey (from milk), whey powder (from milk), barley malt extract, milk fat, soya lecithin, wheat flour, e341, e500, e501, salt, natural vanilla extract, solids 14%, cocoa solids 25%

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates , E501 Potassium carbonates

As written on the pack

Crunchy little Maltesers® pieces floating in creamy milk chocolate GB IRL Milk chocolate with honeycombed pieces (11 % ) . Ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, cocoa mass, glucose syrup, palm fat, lactose and protein from whey (from milk), whey powder (from milk), barley malt extract, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithin). wheat flour, raising agents (E341. E500, E501), salt, natural vanilla extract. Milk chocolate contains milk solids 14% minimum and cocoa solids 25% minimum Suitable for vegetarians.

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.

  • 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.

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.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
5 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.
  • 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 773 chocolate candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 503rd. 91% of the chocolate candies 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 773 chocolate candies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000159462129, last edited 11 August 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.