Is Meal Marshmallow Mateys ultra-processed?

Breakfast cereals Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
Dextrose
Flavouring
Glucose
Modified starch
E102 Tartrazine
and 5 more

55 ingredients
8 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed breakfast cereals

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

oat flour, sugar (processing marker), marshmallows 18% (sugar (processing marker), modified corn*starch (ultra-processing marker), corn* syrup (ultra-processing marker), dextrose (ultra-processing marker), gelatin (ultra-processing marker), artificial flavouring (ultra-processing marker), colours (ultra-processing marker) (tartrazine (ultra-processing marker) (e102)), sunset yellow (ultra-processing marker) (e110), brilliant blue (e133 (ultra-processing marker)), allura red (ultra-processing marker) (e129)), corn* syrup (ultra-processing marker), wheat starch (processing marker), salt (processing marker), antioxidant (calcium carbonate (ultra-processing marker) (e170)), acidity regulator (trisodium phosphate (e339iii)), thiamin mononitrate (vit, b1), riboflavin (vit, b2), niacin (vit, b3), pantothenic acid (vit, b5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vit, b6), folic acid, vitamins, vitamin b12, vitamin a, vitamin c, iron (ferric orthophosphate), zinc (zinc oxide), aliergy advice (for allergens inciuding cereats containing gluten), see ingredients in bold * produced from genetically modified corn may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children product of usa, store in a cool dry place

Additives: E102 Tartrazine , E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E129 Allura red , E133 Brilliant blue FCF , E170 Calcium carbonates , E339 Sodium phosphates , E339iii Trisodium phosphate , E428 Gelatine

As written on the pack

whole grain oat flour, sugar, marshmallows 18% (sugar, modified corn*starch, corn* syrup, dextrose, gelatin, artificial flavouring, colours: tartrazine (e102)**, sunset yellow(e110)**, brilliant blue (e133), allura red (e129)**), corn* syrup, wheat starch, salt, antioxidant: calcium carbonate (e170), acidity regulator: trisodium phosphate (e339iii), thiamin mononitrate (vit,b1), riboflavin (vit,b2), niacin (vit,b3), pantothenic acid (vit,b5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vit,b6), folic acid, vitamin b12, vitamin a, vitamin c, iron (ferric orthophosphate), zinc (zinc oxide), aliergy advice: for allergens inciuding cereats containing gluten, see ingredients in bold * produced from genetically modified corn may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children product of usa, store in a cool dry place,

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.

E102 Tartrazine Tartrazine is a synthetic yellow azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 5 in the US).
E110 Sunset yellow FCF Sunset yellow FCF is a synthetic orange azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 6 in the US).
E129 Allura red Allura red AC is a synthetic red azo dye (FD&C Red No. 40 in the US).
E133 Brilliant blue FCF Brilliant blue FCF is a synthetic blue dye, listed in the US as FD&C Blue No. 1.
E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.

Show 3 more

Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.

Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.

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.
Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,868 breakfast cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1864th. 60% of the breakfast cereals 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 1,868 breakfast cereals, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0042400236627, last edited 9 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.