Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Marks & Spencer Belgian chocolate flapjack ultra-processed?

60g Sweet snacks Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Marks & Spencer Belgian chocolate flapjack

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:

  • 16 ingredients
  • No additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed sweet snacks

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

Rolled Oats, Butter, Belgian Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Mass Sugar· Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin Vanilla Extract)), Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk (Skimmed Milk, Sugar, Lactose), Golden Syrup (Invert Sugar Syrup), Demerara Sugar, Cocoa Mass· Sugar Salt Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin· suitable nut utferers Vanilla Flavouring, Not suitable for Nut and Wheat allergy sufferers and Coeliacs due to manufacturing methods)

As written on the pack

Rolled Oats · Butter (Milk) · Belgian Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Mass Sugar· Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin Vanilla Extract) · Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk (Skimmed Milk · Sugar · Lactose (Milk)) · Golden Syrup (Invert Sugar Syrup) · Demerara Sugar · Cocoa Mass· Sugar Salt Cocoa Butter · Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin· suitable nut utferers Vanilla Flavouring. For allergens see ingredients in bold. Not suitable for Nut and Wheat allergy sufferers and Coeliacs due to manufacturing methods.

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.

  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.

  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
3 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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 5,433 sweet snacks

From least to most processed, this one ranks 2032nd. 86% of the sweet snacks 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 5,433 sweet snacks, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00421522, last edited 19 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.