Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury’s Crème Caramel ultra-processed?

4 x 100 g Dairy desserts Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury’s Crème Caramel

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:

  • 20 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed dairy desserts

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

Cows'milk, sugar, Caramel 6.7% (sugar, water), Cream (Cows'milk), maize starch, natural vanilla flavouring, gelling agent (carrageenan), salt, acidity regulator (sodium citrate), lactose (Cows'milk), milk proteins (Cows'milk), colour (Beta-Carotene)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E331 Sodium citrates , E407 Carrageenan

As written on the pack

Skimmed Cows'milk, sugar, Caramel (6.7%) (sugar,water), Cream (Cows'milk) (3.5%), maize starch, natural vanilla flavouring, gelling agent: carrageenan; salt, acidity regulator: sodium citrate; lactose (Cows'milk) and milk proteins (Cows'milk), colour: Beta-Carotene.

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.
  • E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.

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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
3 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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,414 dairy desserts

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1296th. 72% of the dairy desserts 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 1,414 dairy desserts, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 3523230060073, last edited 6 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.