Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Marks & Spencers Caramel Crispy mini bites ultra-processed?

210 g Bars Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Marks & Spencers Caramel Crispy mini bites

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:

  • 36 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed bars

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

Milk +jta.b, o Chocolate 47% (Sugar, cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Dried Whole Milk, Soya Lecithin), Crisped Rice 20% (Rice, Sugar, Salt, Barley Malt Extract, e471, Iron, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D), Glucose Syrup, Invert Sugar Syrup, Sweetened Condensed Milk (Milk, Sugar), Palm Oil, Glycerol, Sugar, Butter, Salt, Emulsifier, Soya Lecithin, Not suitable for Nut allergy sufferers and Coeliacs due to 9 manufacturing methods, Fuitable for

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E422 Glycerol , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Milk +jta.b/o Chocolate (47%) (Sugar • cocoa Mass • Cocoa Butter • Dried Whole Milk • Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin) • Crisped Rice (20%) (Rice • Sugar • Salt • Barley Malt Extract • Emulsifier: E471 • Iron • Niacin • Pantothenic Acid • Riboflavin • Thiamin • Vitamin B6 • Folic Acid • Vitamin B12 • Vitamin D) • Glucose Syrup • Invert Sugar Syrup • Sweetened Condensed Milk (Milk • Sugar) • Palm Oil • Humectant: Glycerol • Sugar • Butter (Milk) • Salt • Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin. For allergens see ingredients in bold. Not suitable for Nut allergy sufferers and Coeliacs due to 9 manufacturing methods. Fuitable for vegetarians

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.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
6 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.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • 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.
  • 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 1,328 bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1028th. 89% of the bars 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 1,328 bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00842969, last edited 20 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.