Is Marks & Spencer Smooth hazelnut vegan chocolate ultra-processed?

Chocolates 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:

Emulsifier
E322 Lecithins

7 ingredients
2 additives

Less processed chocolates

Dark absolute 99% cacao Lindt Sprungli Sas 5 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Organic 70% Dark Chocolate Bar Green & Black's 5 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Dark Milk Chocolate Tesco 4 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
single origin milk chocolate Marks & Spencer 6 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3

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

Cane sugar (processing marker), cocoa mass, hazelnut paste 20%, cocoa butter, emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (soya lecithin (ultra-processing marker)), vanilla extract

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

Cane sugar, cocoa mass, hazelnut paste (20%), cocoa butter, emulsifier: soya lecithin, vanilla extract

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

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.

Chocolates Products in the category "Chocolates" are at least group 3.
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 959 chocolates

From least to most processed, this one ranks 424th. 82% of the chocolates 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 959 chocolates, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29211784, 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.