Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Mcvities Gold Billons Wafer ultra-processed?

39 g Biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Mcvities Gold Billons Wafer

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:

  • 38 ingredients
  • 2 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

Milk Chocolate 42% (Sugar), Dried Whole Milk, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Salt, Flavouring, White Chocolate 24%, Caramel Flavoured Coating 24% (Sugar), Cocoa Butter, Dried Whole Milk, Caramel (Whey, Maltodextrin, Palm Fat, Sugar), Skimmed Milk, Butter Oil, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Salt, Flavouring, Sugar, Palm Oil, Wheat Flour, Dried Whole Milk, Skimmed Milk, Whey, Lactose, Starch, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Flavourings, Salt, Egg White

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

Milk Chocolate (42%): Sugar, Dried Whole Milk, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Salt, Flavouring; White Chocolate and Caramel Flavoured Coating (24%): Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Dried Whole Milk, Caramel (Dried Whey (Milk), Maltodextrin, Palm Fat, Sugar), Dried Skimmed Milk, Butter Oil (Milk), Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Salt, Flavouring; Sugar, Palm Oil, Wheat Flour, Dried Whole Milk, Dried Skimmed Milk, Dried Whey (Milk), Lactose (Milk), Starch, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Flavourings, Salt, Dried Egg White.

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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • 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.
6 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.
  • 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 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1105th. 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 5000168001197, last edited 6 July 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.