Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsburys Large wholemeal Rolls ultra-processed?

4 Breads Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsburys Large wholemeal Rolls

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:

  • 12 ingredients
  • 3 additives

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

British Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Dextrose, Palm Oil, Palm Stearin, Salt, Soya Flour Rapeseed Oil, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithin), Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid)

Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

Wholemeal British Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Dextrose, Palm Oil, Palm Stearin, Salt, Soya Flour Rapeseed Oil, Emulsifier: Sunflower Lecithin; Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid

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.
  • 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.
1 ingredient 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 2,388 breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1804th. 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 01055801, last edited 6 January 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.