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Is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups King Size ultra-processed?

79 g Chocolate covered peanuts Sold in the United Kingdom, France and Spain

Pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups King Size

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:

  • 29 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate covered nuts

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 coating 52% (sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, milk fat, lactose, emulsifiers, soya lecithin (e322), polyglycerol polyricinoleate (e476)), peanut butter 48% (peanuts, sugar, dextrose, milk fat, salt, emulsifier, soya lecithin (e322), mono- and diglycerides (e471), acidity regulator, citric acid (e330), antioxidants, tbhq (e319))

Additives: E319 Tertiary-butylhydroquinone (tbhq) , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate

As written on the pack

milk chocolate coating (52%) [sugar*, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, milk fat, lactose (milk) emulsifiers, soya lecithin* (e322), polyglycerol polyricinoleate (e476)], peanut butter (48%) [peanuts, sugar, dextrose, milk fat, salt, emulsifier, soya lecithin (e322), mono & diglycerides (e471), acidity regulator, citric acid (e330), antioxidants, tbhq (e319)].

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.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.
  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
5 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.
  • 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 10 chocolate covered peanuts

From least to most processed, this one ranks 4th. 90% of the chocolate covered peanuts 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 10 chocolate covered peanuts, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0034000480074, last edited 9 June 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.