Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sanders Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels ultra-processed?

40 g Chocolate candies Sold in the United States

Pack of Sanders Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels

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:

  • 17 ingredients
  • No additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate candies

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

semi sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor-processed with alkali, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin-an emulsifier, vanilla), milk, corn syrup, sugar, invert sugar, cream, water, sea salt, butter, salt, soy lecithin-an emulsifier

As written on the pack

SEMI SWEET CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR-PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, COCOA BUTTER, MILK FAT, SOY LECITHIN-AN EMULSIFIER, VANILLA), MILK, CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, INVERT SUGAR, CREAM, WATER, SEA SALT, BUTTER, SALT, SOY LECITHIN-AN EMULSIFIER.

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
5 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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 776 chocolate candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 151st. 91% of the chocolate candies 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 776 chocolate candies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0035900264429, last edited 9 August 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.