Is Marks & Spencers Wholemeal seeded farmhouse ultra-processed?

800g Wholemeal sliced breads 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:

Gluten

25 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed wholemeal sliced breads

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

Wheatflour, Water, Seeds 13%, Grains 13% (Brown Linseed, Sunflower Seeds, Millet Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Maize, Pumpkin Seeds, Buckwheat, Golden Linseed), Wheat Gluten (ultra-processing marker), Yeast, Wheatflour, Salt (processing marker), Malted Barley Flour, Wheatflour, Palm Oil, Soya Flour, Caramelised Sugar (processing marker), Rapeseed Oil, Rapeseed Lecithin, Ascorbic Acid

As written on the pack

Wholemeal Wheatflour, Water, Seeds and Grains (13%) (Toasted Brown Linseed, Toasted Sunflower Seeds, Millet Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Maize, Pumpkin Seeds, Toasted Buckwheat, Golden Linseed). Wheat Gluten. Yeast, Fermented Wheatflour. Salt. Malted Barley Flour. Wheatflour. Palm Oil. Soya Flour. Caramelised Sugar. Rapeseed Oil. Rapeseed Lecithin Flour, Ascorbic Acid.

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.

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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 38 wholemeal sliced breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 10th. 89% of the wholemeal sliced breads 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 38 wholemeal sliced breads, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00496223, last edited 6 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.