Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Mc vities Jaffa cake bar ultra-processed?

Cakes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Mc vities Jaffa cake bar

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:

  • 54 ingredients
  • 14 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

Orange Filling 33% (Sugar, Water, Glucose Syrup, Dextrose, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Concentratem Orange Juice, Citric Acid, Pectin, Fruit and Vegetable Concentrates (Lemon, Safflower, Carrot), Acidi Regulator (Sodium Citrates), Natural Orange, Lemon Flavouring), Plain Chocolate 31% (Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Vegetab Fats (Palm, Shea), Butter Oil, Cocoa Butter, Soya Lecithin, e476, Natural Flavouring), Flour (Whear Flour Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Sugar Vegetable Oils (Palm Vegetable Oils, Rapeseed Vegetable Oils), Glycerine, Glucose Syru Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Whole Egg, Milk Proteins, Egg White, Emulsifiers, e471, e475, Soya Leci Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt, Natural Orange, Lemon Flavouring, Potassium Sorbate, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Contains the equivalent of 5% Orange Juice

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E422 Glycerol , E440 Pectins , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Orange Flavoured Filling (33%) [Sugar, Water, Glucose Syrup, Dextrose, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Concentratem Orange Juice, Acid (Citric Acid), Gelling Agent (Pectin), Fruit and Vegetable Concentrates (Lemon, Safflower, Carrot), Acidi Regulator (Sodium Citrates), Natural Orange and Lemon Flavouring], Plain Chocolate (31%) [Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Vegetab Fats (Palm, Shea), Butter Oil (Milk), Cocoa Butter, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E476), Natural Flavouring], Flour (Whear Flour Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Sugar Vegetable Oils (Palm, Rapeseed), Humectant (Glycerine), Glucose Syru Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Dried Whole Egg, Milk Proteins, Dried Egg White, Emulsifiers (E471, E475, Soya Leci Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt, Natural Orange and Lemon Flavouring, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Glucose-Fructose Syrup. Contains the equivalent of 5% Orange Juice.

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.
  • 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.
Show 3 more
  • E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
  • 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.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • 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.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • 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 377 cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 344th. 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 5000168003702, last edited 26 September 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.