Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Specially Selected Nut Bars (all flavours) ultra-processed?

160 g (4 x 40 g) Peanut bars Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Pack of Specially Selected Nut Bars (all flavours)

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:

  • 22 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed peanut bars

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

peanuts 41%, dark chocolate flavour coating 17% (Inulin, Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Powder, Lecithins, Salt, Flavouring, Whole Milk Powder), almonds 10%, honey 9%, Rice Syrup, Isolated Soya Protein (Soya Protein Isolate, Tapioca Starch, Salt), Inulin, peanut butter 2.5%, Lecithins, Although every effort has been made to remove shell, some small fragments may remain

Additives: E322 Lecithins

As written on the pack

PEANUTS (41%), DARK CHOCOLATE FLAVOUR COATING (17%) (Inulin, Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Powder, Emulsifier: Lecithins (Soya); Salt, Flavouring, Whole Milk Powder), ALMONDS (10%), HONEY (9%), Rice Syrup, Isolated Soya Protein (Soya Protein Isolate, Tapioca Starch, Salt), Inulin, PEANUT BUTTER (2.5%), Emulsifier: Lecithins (Soya). ALLERGY ADVICE: For allergens, see ingredients in bold. May also contain other nuts. DIETARY ADVICE: Suitable for vegetarians. WARNING: Although every effort has been made to remove shell, some small fragments may remain.

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

  • 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.

  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
  • 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 42 peanut bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 19th. 90% of the peanut bars 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 42 peanut bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600012711, last edited 27 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.