Is McVitie's Choc gems ultra-processed?

Biscuit (cookie) snack w chocolate filling Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Emulsifier
Flavouring
Invert sugar
E322 Lecithins

23 ingredients
6 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed biscuit (cookie) snack w chocolate filling

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

Milk Chocolate 40% (Sugar (processing marker), Dried Whole Milk (processing marker), Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (Soya Lecithin (ultra-processing marker)), Natural Flavouring (ultra-processing marker)), Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar (processing marker), Palm Oil, Invert Sugar Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Natural Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), including cereals containing gluten

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Milk Chocolate (40%) [Sugar, Dried Whole Milk, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Natural Flavouring], Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar, Palm Oil, Invert Sugar Syrup, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Natural Flavouring, Salt. For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold.

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.

Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.

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.
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 23 biscuit (cookie) snack w chocolate filling

From least to most processed, this one ranks 11th. 91% of the biscuit (cookie) snack w chocolate filling 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 23 biscuit (cookie) snack w chocolate filling, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000168214702, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.