Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Marks & Spencers Olive Oil Spread ultra-processed?

500g Olive oils Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Marks & Spencers Olive Oil Spread

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:

  • 17 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed olive oils

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

Water, Vegetable Oils 24% (Rapeseed, Palm), Olive Oil 21%, Salt 1.1%, Whey, e471, e322, e401, e202, Lactic Acid, Carotenes, Flavouring, vitamins, vitamin A, Vitamin D

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E270 Lactic acid , E322 Lecithins , E401 Sodium alginate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Water, Vegetable Oils (24%) (Rapeseed, Palm). Olive Oil (21%). Salt (1.1%), Dried Whey (Milk), E471, E322, E401, E202, Lactic Acid, Carotenes, Flavouring, Vitamin A, Vitamin D.

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.
  • E401 Sodium alginate A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • 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.

  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 172 olive oils

From least to most processed, this one ranks 172nd. 7% of the olive oils 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 172 olive oils, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00546447, last edited 4 May 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.