Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Marks & Spencers All Butter Cookie ultra-processed?

180g Biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Marks & Spencers All Butter Cookie

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed biscuits

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

allergy (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Belgian Milk Chocolate 23% (Sugar, Dried Whole Milk Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin, Vanilla Flavouring)), Butter, Sugar, Oat Flakes Golden Syrup (Invert Sugar Syrup), Skimmed Milk, Barley Malt Extract, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate), e450, Salt Flavouring

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E450 Diphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Wheatflour contains Gluten allergy (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Belgian Milk Chocolate (23%) (Sugar. Dried Whole Milk Cocoa Butter - Cocoa Mass. Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin. Vanilla Flavouring). Butter (Milk) (18%) Sugar - Oat Flakes Golden Syrup (Invert Sugar Syrup). Dried Skimmed Milk. Barley Malt Extract (contains Gluten). Raising Agent: Sodium Bicarbonate, E450. Salt Flavouring,

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.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • 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.

  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1010th. 83% of the biscuits 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 1,514 biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29365579, 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.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.