Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Nutella Hazelnut Spread ultra-processed?

Chocolate spreads Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Nutella Hazelnut Spread

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:

  • 8 ingredients
  • 1 additive

Less processed chocolate spreads

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, palm oil, hazelnuts 13%, skimmed MILK powder 8.7%, fat-reduced cocoa 7.4%, emulsifier (lecithins), vanillin

Additives: E322 Lecithins

As written on the pack

Sugar, palm oil, HAZELNUTS (13%), skimmed MILK powder (8.7%), fat-reduced cocoa (7.4%), emulsifier: lecithins (SOYA), vanillin.

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.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
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.
  • 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 78 chocolate spreads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 24th. 94% of the chocolate spreads 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 78 chocolate spreads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8000500418208, last edited 29 July 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.