Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's 4 salted caramel and Belgian milk chocolate cookies ultra-processed?

Biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's 4 salted caramel and Belgian milk chocolate cookies

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:

  • 43 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed 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

Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar, Belgian Milk Chocolate Chunks 14% (Sugar, Cows' Milk, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Flavouring), Caramel 12% (Sugar, Cows' Milk, Glucose Syrup, Salted Butter (Cows' Milk), Cornish Sea Salt, Emulsifier (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Salt), Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Salted Butter (Butter (Cows' Milk), Salt), Partially Inverted Refiners Syrup, Water, Wheat Flour, Vegetable Glycerine, Flavouring, Raising Agents (Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate), Disodium Diphosphate, Coconut Oil, Molasses, Emulsifier (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E422 Glycerol , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar, Belgian Milk Chocolate Chunks (14%) (Sugar, Whole Cows' Milk Powder, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin; Flavouring), Salted Caramel Pieces (12%) (Sugar, Sweetened Condensed Cows' Milk, Glucose Syrup, Salted Butter (Cows' Milk), Cornish Sea Salt, Emulsifier: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids; Salt), Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Salted Butter (Butter (Cows' Milk), Salt), Partially Inverted Refiners Syrup, Water, Wheat Flour, Vegetable Glycerine, Flavouring, Raising Agents: Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate, Disodium Diphosphate; Coconut Oil, Molasses, Emulsifier: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids.

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.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • 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.

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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • 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 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1397th. 83% of the 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 1,514 biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01146394, last edited 3 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.
  • 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.