Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Slimfast Chocolate Meal Shake ultra-processed?

325ml Weight-loss milkshakes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Slimfast Chocolate Meal Shake

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:

  • 38 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed milkshakes

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

Skimmed milk powder, Maltodextrin, Fat reduced cocoa powder, Soya bean oil, Inulin, Milk protein, Thickeners (xanthan gum, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose), Vitamins, minerals, vitamin C, magnesium oxide, vitamin E, iron pyrophosphate, zinc sulphate, niacin, vitamins, vitamin A, pantothenic acid, biotin, manganese sulphate, vitamin B12, potassium iodide, sodium selenite, folic acid, vitamin D, copper sulphate, vitamins, vitamin B6, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin K, Barley malt extract, salt, natural flavouring, sweetener (sucralose)

Additives: E415 Xanthan gum , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , E955 Sucralose

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose.

As written on the pack

Skimmed milk powder, Maltodextrin, Fat reduced cocoa powder, Soya bean oil powder (milk), Inulin, Milk protein, Thickeners (xanthan gum, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose), Vitamins & minerals (vitamin C, magnesium oxide, vitamin E, iron pyrophosphate, zinc sulphate, niacin, vitamin A, pantothenic acid, biotin, manganese sulphate, vitamin B12, potassium iodide, sodium selenite, folic acid, vitamin D, copper sulphate, vitamin B6, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin K), Barley malt extract, salt, natural flavouring, sweetener (sucralose)

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.

  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is a thickener made by chemically modifying cellulose from wood or cotton.
  • E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
3 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 8 weight-loss milkshakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 5th. 100% of the weight-loss milkshakes 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 8 weight-loss milkshakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5055967555532, last edited 27 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.