Is Marks & Spencer Wheaten bread ultra-processed?

400 g Sliced breads 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:

Invert sugar
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

28 ingredients
6 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed sliced breads

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

Brown Wheatflour (Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Buttermilk 29%, Wheatflour (Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, thiamin), Golden Syrup (ultra-processing marker) (Invert Sugar Syrup), Wheat, Rye, Butter (processing marker), Sodium Bicarbonate, Black Treacle (processing marker), e282, e202 (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Palm Oil, Repeseed Oil, e471 (ultra-processing marker), e472e (ultra-processing marker), Palm Fat

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E282 Calcium propionate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Brown Wheatflour (Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Buttermilk (29%), Wheatflour (Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, thiamin) Golden Syrup (Invert Sugar Syrup) (4%), Kibbled Wheat, Kibbled Rye, Butter (Milk) (3%), Raising Agent: Sodium Bicarbonate, Black Treacle, Preservative: E282, E202, Salt, Palm Oil, Repeseed Oil, Emulsifier: E471, E472e, Palm Fat

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.

E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides 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.

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.

4 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.

E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 389 sliced breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 307th. 87% of the sliced breads 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 389 sliced breads, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00212847, last edited 9 September 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.