Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Mars Celebration ultra-processed?

Biscuits and cakes Sold in the United Kingdom and the United States

Pack of Mars Celebration

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:

  • 28 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed biscuits and 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

sugar, glucose syrup, skimmed milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, palm fat, whey permeate, milk fat, peanuts, desiccated coconut, wheat flour, sunflower oil, emulsifiers (soya lecithin, e471), barley malt extract, salt, fat-reduced cocoa powder, humectant (glycerol), egg white powder, raising agents (e500, e341, e501), wheat gluten, sweet whey powder, flavouring

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E422 Glycerol , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E501 Potassium carbonates

As written on the pack

sugar, glucose syrup, skimmed milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, palm fat, whey permeate (milk), milk fat, peanuts, desiccated coconut, wheat flour, sunflower oil, emulsifiers (soya lecithin, E471), barley malt extract, salt, fat-reduced cocoa powder, humectant (glycerol), egg white powder, raising agents (E500, E341, E501), wheat gluten, sweet whey powder (milk), flavouring

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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.

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

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • 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 2,122 biscuits and cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1893rd. 84% of the biscuits and 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 2,122 biscuits and cakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000159566971, last edited 27 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.