Is McVitie's BN Chocolate Biscuits ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 23 ingredients
- 6 additives
- Nutri-Score E
Less processed filled biscuits
-
Crocants de Cordes
No1. Waitrose
4 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
3
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Nut Butter Stuffed Sandwich Cookies Cocoa & Cashew Butter
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13 ingredients · 3 additives
NOVA group
3
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Filled Pretzel Nuggets
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NOVA group
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Nut Butter Stuffed Sandwich Cookies
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15 ingredients · 3 additives
NOVA group
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Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Cereals (Wheat Flour, Wheat Flour, Rye Flour, Barley Flour), Sugar (processing marker), Vegetable Fats (processing marker) (Palm, Rapeseed), Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder, Glucose Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Skimmed Milk, Milk, Starches (processing marker) (Wheat), Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt (processing marker), Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (Sunflower Lecithin (ultra-processing marker)), Natural Flavourings (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate
As written on the pack
Cereals (Wheat Flour, Wholemeal Wheat Flour, Wholemeal Rye Flour, Wholemeal Barley Flour), Sugar, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Rapeseed), Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder, Glucose Syrup, Dried Skimmed Milk, Milk Solids, Starches (Wheat), Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithin), Natural Flavourings.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
- 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.
Among 99 filled biscuits
From least to most processed, this one ranks 56th. 96% of the filled biscuits here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000168032054, last edited 19 February 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.