Is Marks & Spencer Egg Custard Tarts ultra-processed?

Pastries Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Dextrose
Flavouring
Glucose
E160a Carotene
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

17 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed pastries

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

Whole Milk 41% (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Egg 17%, Sugar (processing marker), Palm Oil, Whipping Cream, Rapeseed Oil, e471 (ultra-processing marker), Dextrose (ultra-processing marker), Ground Nutmeg, Salt (processing marker), Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Beta Carotenes (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Whole Milk (41%), Wheatflour contains Gluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin) • Pasteurised Egg (17%). Sugar, Palm Oil, Whipping Cream (Milk) (2.5%), Rapeseed Oil, Emulsifier: E471. Dextrose, Ground Nutmeg · Salt. . Flavouring, Colour: Beta Carotenes. .

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.

E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.

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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
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 205 pastries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 103rd. 87% of the pastries 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 205 pastries, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00951975, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.