Is it ultra-processed?
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Is McVities McVitie's Club Orange Bars 7 x (154g) ultra-processed?

154 g Chocolate biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of McVities McVitie's Club Orange Bars 7 x (154g)

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:

  • 31 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

milk chocolate 49%, sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, whey, skimmed milk, butter oil, vegetable fats (sal, shea, palm), soya lecithin, natural flavouring, flour (wheat flour, calcium, iron, niacin, thiamin), vegetable oil (palm vegetable oil), sugar, glucose syrup, sodium bicarbonate, disodium diphosphate, ammonium bicarbonate, salt, natural orange flavouring, paprika extract, citric acid, including cereals containing gluten

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

milk chocolate (49 % ) [ sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, dried whey (milk), dried skimmed milk, butter oil (milk), vegetable fats (sal and/or shea, palm), emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural flavouring), flour (wheat flour, calcium, iron, niacin, thiamin), vegetable oil (palm), sugar, glucose syrup, raising agents (sodium bicarbonate, disodium diphosphate, ammonium bicarbonate), salt, natural orange flavouring, colour (paprika extract), acid (citric acid). 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.

  • 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.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • 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.
  • 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.
5 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.
  • 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 301 chocolate biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 239th. 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 5000168210421, last edited 3 October 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.