Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's shortbread ultra-processed?

Shortbread Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's shortbread

It's processed, but not ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Whole foods combined with:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed sweet snacks

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, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin), Salted Butter 33% (Butter (Cows' Milk), Salt), Sugar, Cornflour, Sea Salt, Ammonium Carbonates, including cereals containing gluten, Also, not suitable for customers with an allergy to nuts and oats due to manufacturing methods, CBOX Recycle TRAY Recycle

Additives: E503 Ammonium carbonates

As written on the pack

160g Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin), Salted Butter (33%) (Butter (Cows' Milk), Salt), Sugar, Cornflour, Sea Salt, Raising Agent: Ammonium Carbonates. Allergy advice: For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. Also, not suitable for customers with an allergy to nuts or oats due to manufacturing methods. CBOX Recycle TRAY Recycle

What makes it processed

Culinary ingredients

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.

Category rules

Open Food Facts puts every product in this category in at least this group.

  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 64 shortbread

From least to most processed, this one ranks 37th. 33% of the shortbread 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 64 shortbread, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5063334014117, last edited 9 September 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.