Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Fruit Loaf ultra-processed?

Breads Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Fruit Loaf

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
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed breads

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 British Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Mixed Fruit 27% (Raisins, Sultanas), Water, Rapeseed Oil, Orange 2%, Lemon Peel 2%, Wheat Gluten, Invert Suqar Syrup, Yeast, Dextrose, Emulsifiers (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), mono- and Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Palm Oil, Salt, Soya Flour, Maize Starch, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid, Allorau adviCe), For allergens including cereals

Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Fortified British Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Mixed Fruit (27%) (Raisins, Sultanas), Water, Rapeseed Oil, Orange and Lemon Peel (2%), Wheat Gluten, Invert Suqar Syrup, Yeast, Dextrose, Emulsifiers: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Mono - and Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono-and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids; Palm Oil, Salt, Soya Flour, Maize Starch, Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid. 8g Allorau adviCe: For allergens including cereals

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.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
2 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 2,388 breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 2140th. 71% of the breads 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 2,388 breads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01260809, last edited 11 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.