Is Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 4 Fruity Hot Cross Buns ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 50 ingredients
- 2 additives
- Nutri-Score D
Less processed brioches
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Fortified British Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Moistened Sultanas 17% (Sultanas, Water), Water, Moistened Raisins 10% (Raisins, Water), Invert Sugar Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Yeast, Moistened Chilean Flame Raisins 2.5% (Chilean Flame Raisins, Water), Palm Fat, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Orange Zest, Lemon Zest, Wheat Gluten (ultra-processing marker), Emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids (ultra-processing marker)), Salt (processing marker), Potato Starch (processing marker), Rye Flour, Cinnamon, Coconut Oil (processing marker), Rapeseed Oil, Maize Starch (processing marker), Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), Clove Bud Oil, Cassia Oil, Orange Oil, Lemon Grass Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil (processing marker), Sandalwood Oil, Coriander Seed Oil, Bergamot Oil, Cognac Oil, Balsam Oil, Geranium Oil
Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
As written on the pack
Fortified British Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Moistened Sultanas (17%) (Sultanas, Water), Water, Moistened Raisins (10%) (Raisins, Water), Invert Sugar Syrup, Yeast, Moistened Chilean Flame Raisins (2.5%) (Chilean Flame Raisins, Water), Palm Fat, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Orange Zest, Lemon Zest, Wheat Gluten, Emulsifier: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids; Salt, Potato Starch, Rye Flour, Cinnamon, Coconut Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Maize Starch, Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid; Clove Bud Oil, Cassia Oil, Orange Oil, Lemon Grass Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Coriander Seed Oil, Bergamot Oil, Cognac Oil, Balsam Oil, Geranium Oil.
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.
- 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.
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.
- Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
- Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
4 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.
- 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.
Among 61 brioches
From least to most processed, this one ranks 15th. 97% of the brioches here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01050578, last edited 5 March 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 D (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.