Is it ultra-processed?
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Is McVitie's Digestives ultra-processed?

400 g Shortbread cookies Sold in the United Kingdom, France and 2 more countries

Pack of McVitie's Digestives

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:

  • 10 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed shortbread cookies

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

Wheat Flour 55%, Non-Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Vegetable Oil), Wheat Flour 16%, Sugar, Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Sodium Bicarbonate, Malic Acid, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Salt

Additives: E296 Malic acid , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour (55%), Non-Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm), Wholemeal Wheat Flour (16%), Sugar, Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Malic Acid, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Salt. Contains: Gluten, May also contain Milk.

What makes it ultra-processed

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.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 87 shortbread cookies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 58th. 45% of the shortbread cookies 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 87 shortbread cookies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000396001730, last edited 13 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.