Is it ultra-processed?
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Is McVitie's Toasting Waffles ultra-processed?

200g Waffles Sold in the United Kingdom and the United States

Pack of McVitie's Toasting Waffles

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:

  • 17 ingredients
  • 11 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed waffles

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, Sugar, Water, Whole Egg, Vegetable Oils (Palm Vegetable Oils, Rapeseed Vegetable Oils), Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Sorbitol, Salt, e471, e475, Soya Lecithin, Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate, Natural Flavouring

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E420 Sorbitol , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour, Sugar, Water, Whole Egg, Vegetable Oils (Palm, Rapeseed), Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Humectant (Sorbitol), Salt, Emulsifiers (E471, E475, Soya Lecithin), Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Natural Flavouring.

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.
  • E420 Sorbitol Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener and to keep products moist.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • 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.
  • 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 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 38 waffles

From least to most processed, this one ranks 38th. 95% of the waffles 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 38 waffles, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000168014104, last edited 14 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.