Is Meiji Biscuits with Chocolate Flavoured Filling ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- Flavouring
- Maltodextrin
- E1400 Dextrin
- E150a Plain caramel
- E322 Lecithins
- E473 Sucrose esters of fatty acids
- 25 ingredients
- 9 additives
- Nutri-Score E
Less processed chocolate biscuits
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
wheat flour 35%, vegetable oil (processing marker) (palm oil), sugar (processing marker), cocoa mass 7.4%, whole milk powder (processing marker), seasoning (maltodextrin (ultra-processing marker), hydrolyzed vegetable protein, yoghurt powder (dextrin (ultra-processing marker), skim milk powder (processing marker)), disodium 5'-guanylate, disodium 5-inosinate), ammonium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sucrose esters of fatty acids (ultra-processing marker), soya lecithin (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), malt extract (barley), yeast powder, plain caramel (ultra-processing marker), artificial vanilla, chocolate flavourings (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E1400 Dextrin , E150a Plain caramel , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E473 Sucrose 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 (35%), vegetable oil (palm oil), sugar, cocoa mass (7,4%), whole milk powder, seasoning [maltodextrin, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, yoghurt powder (dextrin, skim milk powder), flavour enhancers (disodium 5'-guanylate, disodium 5-inosinate)], leavening agents (ammonium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate), emulsifiers (sucrose esters of fatty acids, soya lecithin), salt, malt extract (barley), yeast powder, natural colouring (plain caramel), artificial vanilla and chocolate flavourings
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.
- E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
- E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
- 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.
- E473 Sucrose 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.
- Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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 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.
- Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.
Among 301 chocolate biscuits
From least to most processed, this one ranks 198th. 95% of the chocolate biscuits here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8888077102023, last edited 19 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.