Is Marks & Spencers Victoria Sponge Cake ultra-processed?

460 g Cakes Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E440 Pectins
E450 Diphosphates
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids
E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate

19 ingredients
7 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed cakes

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

Butter (processing marker), Pasteurised Egg Strawberry Jam (Sugar Strawberry Purée Clucose-Fructose Syrup Acid (Citric Acid Celling Agent), Pectin (ultra-processing marker), Acidity, Regulator (e331i)), Clycerol Buttermilk Whole 1280 Milk Clotted Cream, Raising Agent, e450 (ultra-processing marker), Sodium 305 Bicarbonate Emulsifier (e481 (ultra-processing marker)), e471 (ultra-processing marker), e475 Salt Madagascan 14.2g Vanilla Extract Palm Oil Cornflour, per 100g per cake 1669 398 18.5g 10.29 7.89 s grasses saturates gras saturés Fate, Glucides 52.4g 40.2g sugars, dont sucres 31.8g 24.4g es alimentaires 0.99 0.7g Protéines 5.19 3.9g 0‚659 e intake (adult)

Additives: E331 Sodium citrates , E331i Monosodium citrate , E440 Pectins , E450 Diphosphates , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids , E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids.

As written on the pack

Nut Sugar Wheatflour contains Gluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin) Butter (Milk) Pasteurised Egg Strawberry Jam (Sugar Strawberry Purée Clucose-Fructose Syrup Acid: Citric Acid Celling Agent: Pectin (from Fruit) Acidity (779) Regulator: E331 (i)) Humectant: Clycerol Buttermilk Whole 1280 Milk Clotted Cream (Milk) Raising Agent: E450, Sodium 305 Bicarbonate Emulsifier: E481, E471, E475 Salt Madagascan 14.2g Vanilla Extract Palm Oil Cornflour. per 100g per cake 1669 398 18.5g 10.29 7.89 s grasses saturates gras saturés Fate/Glucides 52.4g 40.2g sugars/dont sucres 31.8g 24.4g es alimentaires 0.99 0.7g Protéines 5.19 3.9g 0,659 e intake (adult) 8400kJ/

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.

E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.

2 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.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 377 cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 166th. 94% of the cakes 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 377 cakes, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00573696, last edited 1 October 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.