Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Nestlé Snack Size KitKat ultra-processed?

9 x 12.5 g Chocolate candies Sold in Canada

Pack of Nestlé Snack Size KitKat

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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate candies

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

Milk chocolate (sugar, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, chocolate, soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, natural flavour), Sugar, Wheat flour, Modified palm oil, Cocoa, Palm oil, Baking soda, Soy lecithin, Yeast, Protease, Xylanase

Additives: E1101 Protease , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Milk chocolate (sugar, modified milk ingredients, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, natural flavour), Sugar, Wheat flour, Modified palm oil, Cocoa, Palm oil, Baking soda, Soy lecithin, Yeast, Protease, Xylanase

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.
  • E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
  • 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.

  • Milk An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
2 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.

  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 773 chocolate candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 439th. 91% of the chocolate candies 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 773 chocolate candies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0059800749602, last edited 1 April 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.