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

125g bars x 7 Biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of McVitie's Gold

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:

  • 37 ingredients
  • 10 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed 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

Caramel Flavour Coating 70% (Sugar, Palm Oil, Drie Whole Milk, Glucose Syrup, Whey, Skimmed Milk, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Colours (Carotenes, Paprika Extract), Natural Flavouring, Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar, Palm Oil, Crisped Rice, Rice Flour, Wheat Flour, Sugar, Barley Malt Flour, Salt, Rapeseed Oil, Emulsifier (Sep Lecithin)), Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Tartaric Acid, Malic Acid), Salt

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160c Paprika extract , E296 Malic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E334 L(+)-tartaric acid , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Caramel Flavour Coating (70%) [Sugar, Palm Oil, Drie Whole Milk, Glucose Syrup, Dried Whey (Milk), Dried Skimmed Milk, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Colours (Carotenes, Paprika Extract), Natural Flavouring), Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar, Palm Oil, Crisped Rice [Rice Flour, Wheat Flour, Sugar, Barley Malt Flour, Salt, Rapeseed Oil, Emulsifier (Sep Lecithin)], Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Tartaric Acid, Malic Acid), 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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • 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.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
3 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1421st. 83% of the 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 1,514 biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000168218663, 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.