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Is Marks & Spencers Belgian milk chocolate coated brazil nuts ultra-processed?

Chocolate covered nuts Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Marks & Spencers Belgian milk chocolate coated brazil nuts

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:

  • 14 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate covered nuts

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

Brazil Nuts, Sugar, Dried Whole Milk, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Soya Lecithin, Gum Arabic, Shellac, Glucose Syrup, Palm Kernel Oil, Coconut Oil, Vanilla Flavouring, Milk Chocolate contains Cocoa Solids 30%, Milk 20%

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E414 Acacia gum , E904 Shellac

As written on the pack

Brazil Nuts, Sugar, Dried Whole Milk, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin, Glazing Agent: Gum Arabic, Shellac, Glucose Syrup · Palm Kernel Oil, Coconut Oil, Vanilla Flavouring. Milk Chocolate contains Cocoa Solids 30% minimum, Milk Solids 20% minimum.

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.
  • E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
  • E904 Shellac Shellac is a resin secreted by lac insects, used as a glazing agent on sweets, coated chocolates and fruit.
  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
5 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.

  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 43 chocolate covered nuts

From least to most processed, this one ranks 25th. 86% of the chocolate covered nuts 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 43 chocolate covered nuts, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00052368, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.