Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Specially Selected Sicillian Lemon Swiss Roll ultra-processed?

275g Cakes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Specially Selected Sicillian Lemon Swiss Roll

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:

  • 63 ingredients
  • 14 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed cakes

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

lemon curd 33% (Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Sugar, Water, Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Gelling Agent (Pectins), Egg, lemon juice concentrate 1%, Acid (Citric Acid), Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Flavouring, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrates), Colour (Lutein)), lemon buttercream 21% (Sugar, Butter, Dried Glucose Syrup, Glucose syrup, Water, Humectant (Glycerol), Maize Starch, Emulsifier (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Egg White, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Salt, Sicilian Lemon Oil), Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar, Egg, Water, Humectant (Glycerol), Dextrose, Skimmed Milk Powder, Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate), Sodium Carbonate, Palm Oil, Emulsifiers (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Lecithin, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Colour (Curcumin)

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E161b Lutein , E202 Potassium sorbate , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E422 Glycerol , E440 Pectins , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500i Sodium carbonate

As written on the pack

LEMON CURD (33%) (Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Sugar, Water, Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Gelling Agent: Pectins; Dried Egg Powder; LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE (1%), Acid: Citric Acid; Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Flavouring, Acidity Regulator: Sodium Citrates; Colour: Lutein), LEMON BUTTERCREAM (21%) (Sugar, Butter (Milk), Dried Glucose Syrup, Glucose syrup, Water, Humectant: Glycerol; Maize Starch, Emulsifier: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids; Dried Egg White, Preservative: Potassium Sorbate; Salt, Sicilian Lemon Oil), Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sugar, Pasteurised Egg, Water, Humectant: Glycerol; Dextrose, Skimmed Milk Powder, Raising Agents: Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Carbonate; Palm Oil, Emulsifiers: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Lecithin (Soya); Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Colour: Curcumin.

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.

  • E100 Curcumin 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
Show 6 more
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Glucose syrup 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.
8 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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • 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 377 cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 358th. 94% of the 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 377 cakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600042190, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.