Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Marks & Spencer Colin the Caterpillar cake ultra-processed?

625 g Cakes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Marks & Spencer Colin the Caterpillar cake

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:

  • 43 ingredients
  • 9 additives

Less processed cakes

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

Milk Chocolate 24% (Sugar Cocoa Butter Cocoa Mass Dried Skimmed Milk Milk Fat Lactose, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin)), Sugar White Chocolate 12% (Sugar Dried Whole Milk Cocoa Butter Dried Skimmed Milk Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin Vanilla Flavouring), with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Butter, Water Dark Chocolate 3.5% (Cocoa Mass Sugar Cocoa Butter Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin)), Egg, Sugar Coated Milk Chocolate Beans 3%, Milk Chocolate (Sugar Cocoa Butter Dried Skimmed Milk Cocoa Mass Dried Whey, Lactose, Butter Oil, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin Vanilla Flavouring)), Sugar Tapioca 3 Starch Glazing Agent (Shellac), Carnauba Wax Plant, Vegetable Concentrates (Spirulina, Safflower), Colour (Curcumin) Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder Dried Glucose Syrup Rowan Extract Pasteurised Egg White Humectant), e Glycerol Dried Skimmed Milk Dextrose Emulsifier (e471), e475, e481, Soya Lecithin, e476 Raising Agent (e450), Sodium Bicarbonate Cornflour Salt Palm Oil Rapeseed Oil Dried Whole Milk Cocoa Butter Dried Whey, Flavourings Colour (Beetroot Red, 9 suitable nut allergy not s ble for thes with a Nut and Peanut allergy)

Additives: E162 Beetroot red , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E450 Diphosphates , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate , E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate , E904 Shellac

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate.

As written on the pack

Milk Chocolate (24%) (Sugar Cocoa Butter Cocoa Mass Dried Skimmed Milk Milk Fat Lactose (Milk) Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin) Sugar White Chocolate (12%) (Sugar Dried Whole Milk Cocoa Butter Dried Skimmed Milk Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin Vanilla Flavouring) Wheatflour contains Gluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin) Butter (Milk) Water Dark Chocolate (3.5%) (Cocoa Mass Sugar Cocoa Butter Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin) Pasteurised Egg - Sugar Coated Milk Chocolate Beans (3%) (Milk Chocolate (Sugar Cocoa Butter Dried Skimmed Milk Cocoa Mass Dried Whey (Milk) Lactose (Milk) Butter Oil (Milk) Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin Vanilla Flavouring) Sugar Tapioca 3 Starch Glazing Agent: Shellac, Carnauba Wax Plant and Vegetable Concentrates (Spirulina, Safflower) Colour: Curcumin) Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder Dried Glucose Syrup Rowan Extract Pasteurised Egg White Humectant: e Glycerol Dried Skimmed Milk Dextrose Emulsifier: E471, E475, E481, Soya Lecithin, E476 Raising Agent: E450, Sodium Bicarbonate Cornflour Salt Palm Oil Rapeseed Oil Dried Whole Milk Cocoa Butter Dried Whey (Milk) - Flavourings Colour: Beetroot Red. 9 suitable nut allergy not s ble for thes with a Nut and Peanut allergy.

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.

  • E162 Beetroot red Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of 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.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
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  • E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • E904 Shellac Shellac is a resin secreted by lac insects, used as a glazing agent on sweets, coated chocolates and fruit.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 377 cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 295th. 94% of the cakes 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 377 cakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00106498, 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.