Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Parle Hide & Seek ultra-processed?

100 g Dry biscuits Sold in the United States and India

Pack of Parle Hide & Seek

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:

  • 28 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed dry biscuits

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

refined wheat flour (maida), sugar, choco chips 17.3% (sugar, edible vegetable fat (hydrogenated oils), cocoa solids dextrose, soy lecithin, artificial flavouring substances (vanilla), refined palm oil, chocolate 5.8%, sugar, cocoa solids cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin, artificial flavouring substances (vanilla)), invert sugar syrup, ii, ii, cocoa solids, iodised salt, artificial (vanilla), flavouring substances, emulsifier of vegetable

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E503 Ammonium carbonates

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids.

As written on the pack

REFINED WHEAT FLOUR (MAIDA), SUGAR, CHOCO CHIPS (17.3%) [SUGAR, EDIBLE VEGETABLE FAT (HYDROGENATED OILS), COCOA SOLIDS DEXTROSE, EMULSIFIER (SOY LECITHIN) AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURING SUBSTANCES (VANILLA), REFINED PALM OIL, CHOCOLATE (5.8%) [SUGAR, COCOA SOLIDS COCOA BUTTER, DEXTROSE, EMULSIFIER (SOY LECITHIN) AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURING SUBSTANCES - (VANILLA)], INVERT SUGAR SYRUP, RAISING AGENTS [503(ii), 500(ii)], COCOA SOLIDS, IODISED SALT, ARTIFICIAL (VANILLA) FLAVOURING SUBSTANCES AND EMULSIFIER OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN [472e]. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY

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.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Hydrogenated oil Hydrogenation turns liquid oil into a solid fat that resists going rancid.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 68 dry biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 53rd. 84% of the dry biscuits 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 68 dry biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8901719117183, last edited 20 September 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.