Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Pains au chocolat Asda 8 Pains au Chocolat ultra-processed?

360g Chocolate croissant Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Pains au chocolat Asda 8 Pains au Chocolat

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:

  • 35 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed viennoiseries

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

Wheat Flour, Palm Oil, Chocolate 13%, Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier (Lecithins), Flavouring, Water, Sugar, Whole Egg, Concentrated Butter, Yeast, Skimmed Milk Powder, Emulsifiers (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Sodium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate), Salt, Flavouring, Wheat Gluten, Carob Germ Flour, Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Thickener (Carob Bean Gum), Rye Flour, Colour (Carotenes), including cereals containing gluten, baries, spelt, kamut, oat, ORAGE She in a cool Suital befor cons st tho Cdefro dot ref TR

Additives: E160a Carotene , E300 Ascorbic acid , E322 Lecithins , E410 Locust bean gum , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour, Palm Oil, Chocolate (13%) [Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter. Emulsifier (Lecithins), Flavouring). Water, Sugar, Pasteurised Whole Egg. Concentrated Butter (Milk) (2%). Yeast, Skimmed Milk Powder, Emulsifiers (Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Sodium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate), Salt, Flavouring. Wheat Gluten, Carob Germ Flour, Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Thickener (Carob Bean Gum), Rye Flour, Colour (Carotenes). Allergy Advice! for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see Ingredients in bold. May also contain sesame seeds, soya, baries, spelt, kamut and oat. ORAGE She in a cool Suital befor cons st tho Cdefro dot ref TR

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.

  • 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.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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  • 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.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
4 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.
  • 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 21 chocolate croissant

From least to most processed, this one ranks 20th. 100% of the chocolate croissant 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 21 chocolate croissant, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5051413575390, last edited 27 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.