Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Marks & Spencers Banana flavoured milk ultra-processed?

Milks Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Marks & Spencers Banana flavoured milk

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:

  • 10 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed milks

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

semi-skimmed milk 93%, sugar, skimmed milk, banana, stabiliser (carrageenan), xanthan gum, banana flavouring, colour (carotenes)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E407 Carrageenan , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

semi-skimmed milk (93%), sugar, dried skimmed milk, concentrated banana juice, stabiliser: carrageenan, xanthan gum, banana flavouring, colour: 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.
  • E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
1 ingredient that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 440 milks

From least to most processed, this one ranks 407th. 24% of the milks 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 440 milks, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00185943, last edited 25 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.