Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Mixed berry cheesecake ultra-processed?

500g Cheesecakes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Mixed berry cheesecake

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:

  • 36 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cakes

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

Sugar, Wheat Flour, Low Fat Soft Cheese, Cream, Low Fat Yogurt, Water, Rapeseed Oil, Palm Fat, blackberries 4%, raspberries 4%, redcurrants 4%, Brown Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Egg, Wheat Starch, blackcurrants 1.5%, Blackcurrant, Invert Sugar Syrup, Maize Starch, Wheat Gluten, Whey Powder, Skimmed Milk, Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid), Sodium Citrates, Calcium Phosphates, Diphosphates, Egg White Powder, Emulsifier (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Gelling Agent (Pectins), Raising Agents (Sodium Carbonates), Ammonium Carbonates, Concentrated Elderberry Juice

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E341 Calcium phosphates , E440 Pectins , E450 Diphosphates , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E503 Ammonium carbonates

As written on the pack

Sugar, Wheat Flour, Low Fat Soft Cheese (Milk), Cream (Milk), Low Fat Yogurt (Milk), Water, Rapeseed Oil, Palm Fat, BLACKBERRIES (4%), RASPBERRIES (4%), REDCURRANTS (4%), Brown Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Pasteurised Egg, Wheat Starch, BLACKCURRANTS (1.5%), Blackcurrant Purée, Invert Sugar Syrup, Maize Starch, Wheat Gluten, Whey Powder (Milk), Dried Skimmed Milk, Acidity Regulators: Citric Acid, Sodium Citrates, Calcium Phosphates, Diphosphates; Egg White Powder, Emulsifier: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids; Gelling Agent: Pectins; Raising Agents: Sodium Carbonates, Ammonium Carbonates; Concentrated Elderberry Juice

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.

  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • 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.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.

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.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 15 cheesecakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 12th. 100% of the cheesecakes 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 15 cheesecakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600231631, last edited 27 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.