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Is Nestlé Kitkat Dark Chocolate Biscuit Bar ultra-processed?

Candy chocolate bars Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Nestlé Kitkat Dark Chocolate Biscuit Bar

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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 4 additives

Less processed candy chocolate bars

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

nine bars of two crispy wafer fingers covered in dark chocolate 66%, ingredents (sugar), cocoa mass, wheat flour (contains calcium, iron, thiamin, niacin), vegetable fats (palm, palm kernel, shea, illipe, mango kernel, kokum gurgi, sal), cocoa butter, butterfat (from milk), sunflower lecitlin, soya lecithin, dried whole milk, skimmed milk powder, lactose, proteins from whey (from milk), whey powder (from milk), yeast, sodium bicarbonate, salt, natural flavourings, including cereals containing gluten

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

nine bars of two crispy wafer fingers covered in dark chocolate (66%), ingredents: sugar, cocoa mass, wheat flour (contains calcium, iron, thiamin and niacin), vegetable fats (palm, palm kernel, shea/ illipe/ mango kernel/ kokum gurgi/ sal), cocoa butter, butterfat (from milk), emulsifiers (sunflower lecitlin, soya lecithin), dried whole milk, skimmed milk powder, lactose and proteins from whey (from milk), whey powder (from milk), yeast, raising agent (sodium bicarbonate), salt, natural flavourings, allergy advice! for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold,

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.
  • 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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • 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.
6 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 fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 201 candy chocolate bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 114th. 94% of the candy chocolate bars 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 201 candy chocolate bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7613036099387, last edited 14 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.