Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Mrs.ButterWorth’s ultra-processed?

Syrups Sold in the United States

Pack of Mrs.ButterWorth’s

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:

  • 15 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed syrups

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

high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, contains 2% and less of, cellulose gum, salt, cane syrup, caramel color sodium hexametaphosphate sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate (preservatives), natural and artificial flavor, citric acid, molasses, lactic acid, mono- and diglycerides

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, contains 2% or less of: natural flavor, cellulose gum, salt, cane syrup, caramel color sodium hexametaphosphate sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservatives), natural and artificial flavor, citric acid, molasses, lactic acid, mono and diglycerides,

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.

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.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • 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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 181 syrups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 144th. 54% of the syrups 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 181 syrups, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0644209303809, last edited 31 January 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.