Is Marks & Spencer Buttermilk Pikelets ultra-processed?

6 Bakery products Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Gluten
E450 Diphosphates

18 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed bakery products

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

Wheatflour contains Cluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Buttermilk 26%, Water, Wheatflour, Wheat Gluten (ultra-processing marker), e450 (ultra-processing marker), Sodium Bicarbonate, Rye Flour, Sugar Salt Barley Malt Vinegar, Rowan Extract, Yeast (Yeast, Vitamin D Yeast)

Additives: E450 Diphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Wheatflour contains Cluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Buttermilk (26%), Water, Dried Fermented Wheatflour (contains Gluten), Wheat Gluten, Raising Agents: E450, Sodium Bicarbonate, Fermented Rye Flour (contains Gluten) Sugar Salt Barley Malt Vinegar (contains Gluten), Rowan Extract, Yeast (Yeast, Vitamin D Yeast), Tapioca Starch Allergens: contains Wheat, Buttermilk, Gluten, Rye, Barley 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.

E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.

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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 43 bakery products

From least to most processed, this one ranks 32nd. 60% of the bakery products 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 43 bakery products, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00530446, last edited 8 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.
NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.