Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Mars Maltesers ultra-processed?

140g Bonbons Sold in Australia, New Zealand and France

Pack of Mars Maltesers

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:

  • 16 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed bonbons

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, milk, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, malt extract (barley), glucose syrup, vegetable fat, maltodextrin, soy lecithin, 501‚500, vegetable gum, salt, flavour, milk chocolate contains cocoa solids 25%, milk 23%

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E440 Pectins , E492 Sorbitan tristearate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E501 Potassium carbonates

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E440 Pectins, E492 Sorbitan tristearate.

As written on the pack

SUGAR, MILK SOLIDS, COCOA BUTTER, COCOA MASS, MALT EXTRACT (BARLEY), GLUCOSE SYRUP, VEGETABLE FAT, MALTODEXTRIN, EMULSIFIERS (SOY LECITHIN, 492), RAISING AGENTS (501,500), VEGETABLE GUM (440), SALT, FLAVOUR. MILK CHOCOLATE CONTAINS COCOA SOLIDS 25%, MILK SOLIDS 23%

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.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • E492 Sorbitan tristearate 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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
4 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 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 193 bonbons

From least to most processed, this one ranks 122nd. 94% of the bonbons 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 193 bonbons, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9300682047500, last edited 31 July 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.