Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Soreen Banana Loaf ultra-processed?

260g Sponge cakes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Soreen Banana Loaf

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:

  • 37 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed desserts

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, Iron, Niacin (B3), Thiamin (B1)), Water, Banana 11% (Fructose-glucose Syrup, Concentrated Pear Purée, Banana, Humectant (Glycerol), Sugar, Wheat Fibre, Palm Fat, Gelling Agent (Pectin), Malic Acid, Natural Flavouring, Concentrated Lemon Juice), Sugar, Banana 9.9%, Maize Starch, Vegetable Fat (Rapeseed, Palm), Dextrose, Salt, Yeast, Flavourings, Preservative (Calcium Propionate), Colour (Lutein)

Additives: E161b Lutein , E282 Calcium propionate , E296 Malic acid , E422 Glycerol , E440 Pectins

As written on the pack

Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin (B3), Thiamin (B1)), Water, Sweetened Banana Flavoured Pieces 11% (Fructose-glucose Syrup, Concentrated Pear Purée, Concentrated Banana Purée, Humectant (Glycerol), Sugar, Wheat Fibre, Palm Fat, Gelling Agent (Pectin), Malic Acid, Natural Flavouring, Concentrated Lemon Juice), Sugar, Banana Purée 9.9%, Maize Starch, Vegetable Fat (Rapeseed, Palm), Dextrose, Salt, Yeast, Flavourings, Preservative (Calcium Propionate), Colour (Lutein).

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.

  • E161b Lutein Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.
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  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.

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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
  • 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.
6 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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • 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 13 sponge cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 100% of the sponge cakes 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 13 sponge cakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5018735224818, last edited 15 June 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.