Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Nestlé Smarties ice cream ultra-processed?

6 x 70ml Ice cream cones Sold in Ireland and France

Pack of Nestlé Smarties ice cream

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:

  • 49 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed ice creams

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

Vanilla flavour ice cream (skimmed milk, Glucose syrup, Sugar, Coconut oil, Maltodextrin, Whey powder (from Milk), mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, Locust bean gum, Guar gum, Flavouring), Biscuit cone 15%, Wheat flour, Sugar, Coconut oil, Soya lecithin, Chocolate flavour coating 11%, Vegetable oils in varying proportions (Coconut, Sunflower), Sugar, Fat-reduced cocoa powder, Soya lecithin, Mini SMARTIES® 8% (Sugar, Cocoa butter, Skimmed milk powder, Cocoa mass, Vegetable oils (Shea kernel, Palm), Butter oil (from Milk), Wheat flour, Whey powder (from Milk), Rice starch, Sunflower lecithin, Fruit and vegetable concentrates (Safflower, Radish, Black carrot, Lemon, Hibiscus), Spirulina concentrate, Carnauba wax, Beeswax white, Flavouring)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E410 Locust bean gum , E412 Guar gum , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E903 Carnauba wax

As written on the pack

Vanilla flavour ice cream (Partially reconstituted skimmed milk concentrate, Glucose syrup, Sugar, Coconut oil, Maltodextrin, Whey powder (from Milk), Emulsifier (Mono - and diglycerides of fatty acids), Stabilisers (Locust bean gum, Guar gum), Flavouring), Biscuit cone (15%) (Wheat flour, Sugar, Coconut oil, Emulsifier (Soya lecithin), Chocolate flavour coating (11%) (Vegetable oils in varying proportions (Coconut, Sunflower), Sugar, Fat-reduced cocoa powder, Emulsifier (Soya lecithin), Mini SMARTIES® (8%) (Sugar, Cocoa butter, Skimmed milk powder, Cocoa mass, Vegetable oils (Shea kernel, Palm), Butter oil (from Milk), Wheat flour, Whey powder (from Milk), Rice starch, Emulsifier (Sunflower lecithin), Fruit and vegetable concentrates (Safflower, Radish, Black carrot, Lemon, Hibiscus), Spirulina concentrate, Glazing agents (Carnauba wax, Beeswax white), Flavouring). May contain nuts.

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.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E903 Carnauba wax Carnauba wax comes from the leaves of a Brazilian palm and gives sweets and coated chocolates their shine.
  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • 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.

  • Ice creams Products in the category "Ice creams" are at least group 3.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • 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.
  • 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 13 ice cream cones

From least to most processed, this one ranks 7th. 100% of the ice cream cones 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 13 ice cream cones, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010238014637, 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.
  • 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.