Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Options Vegan Belgian Chocolate ultra-processed?

Confectioneries Sold in the United Kingdom and Germany

Pack of Options Vegan Belgian Chocolate

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
  • 12 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed confectioneries

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

fat-reduced cocoa powder 23%, glucose syrup, malto, dextrin, belgian chocolate 10% (sugar, cocoa mass, fat-reduced cocoa powder, flavouring), sugar, 2 3 2 free oat flour, refined coconut oil, fully hydrogenated coconut oil, gluten, 2 thickener (guar gum), salt, emulsifiers (e322, e471), modified starch, hydrolysed pea protein, sweetener (aspartame), stabilisers (e340, e340i), anti-caking agents (e551, e341i), flavouring (vanillin), colour (e160a)

Additives: E1400 Dextrin , E14XX Modified Starch , E160a Carotene , E322 Lecithins , E340 Potassium phosphates , E340i Monopotassium phosphate , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E412 Guar gum , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E551 Silicon dioxide , E951 Aspartame

As written on the pack

fat-reduced cocoa powder 23%, glucose syrup, malto - dextrin, belgian chocolate 10% (sugar, cocoa mass', fat-reduced cocoa powder', flavouring), sugar, 2 3 2 free oat flour, refined coconut oil, fully hydrogenated coconut oil, gluten - 2 thickener (guar gum), salt, emulsifiers (e322, e471), modified starch, hydrolysed pea protein, sweetener (aspartame), stabilisers (e340, e340(i)), anti-caking agents (e551, e341 (i)), flavouring (vanillin), colour (e160a)

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.

  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • E14xx Modified Starch Modified starches (E1400 to E1452) are starches treated physically, with enzymes or chemically so that they thicken and hold up to heating, freezing or acidity better than ordinary starch.
  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • 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.
  • 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.
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  • E551 Silicon dioxide A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • E951 Aspartame Aspartame is a synthetic sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar, used in diet drinks and sugar-free products.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
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.

  • Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,731 confectioneries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1692nd. 90% of the confectioneries 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 1,731 confectioneries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7612100905470, last edited 26 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.