Is it ultra-processed?
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Is McVitie's Digestives Milk Chocolate Caramel ultra-processed?

250g Chocolate biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of McVitie's Digestives Milk Chocolate Caramel

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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 10 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate biscuits

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

Flour 33% (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Caramel 26% (Glucose Syrup, Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk, Glycerine, Palm Oil, Salt, e471, Milk Chocolate 18%, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Skimmed Milk, Dried Whey Milk, Butter Oil, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea), Soya Lecithin, e476, Natural Flavouring), Palm Oil, Wheat Flour 7%, Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Sodium Bicarbonate, Malic Acid, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Salt

Additives: E296 Malic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E422 Glycerol , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Flour (33%) (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Caramel (26%) [Glucose Syrup, Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk, Humectant (Glycerine), Palm Oil, Salt, Emulsifier (E471)), Milk Chocolate 18%) [Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Dried Skimmed Milk, Dried Whey Milk), Butter Oil (Milk), Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E476), Natural Flavouring], Palm Oil, Wholemeal Wheat Flour (7%), Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Malic Acid, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Salt.

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.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn 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 301 chocolate biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 265th. 95% of the chocolate biscuits 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 301 chocolate biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000168035659, last edited 7 August 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.