Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tasty Baking Company Tastykake, krimpets sponge cakes, butterscotch ultra-processed?

12 oz Cakes Sold in the United States and France

Pack of Tasty Baking Company Tastykake, krimpets sponge cakes, butterscotch

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:

  • 42 ingredients
  • 16 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

sugar, flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), nonfat milk, egg yolks, corn syrup, vegetable shortening (soybean oil, palm oil, and hydrogenated cottonseed oil), high fructose corn syrup, eggs, whey, water, contains 2% and less of each of the following (corn starch), soy protein, butter (made from milk), soy lecithin, salt, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate, modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, polysorbate 60, xanthan gum, mono- and diglycerides, sorbitan monostearate, monoglycerides, calcium sulfate, nutmeg, lactic acid, with sodium propionate, sorbic acid, benzoic acid

Additives: E200 Sorbic acid , E210 Benzoic acid , E270 Lactic acid , E281 Sodium propionate , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E415 Xanthan gum , E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E491 Sorbitan monostearate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

sugar, enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), nonfat milk, egg yolks, corn syrup, vegetable shortening (soybean oil, palm oil, and hydrogenated cottonseed oil), high fructose corn syrup, eggs, whey (milk), water, contains 2% or less of each of the following: corn starch, soy protein, butter (made from milk), soy lecithin, salt, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate), modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, polysorbate 60, xanthan gum, mono - and diglycerides, sorbitan monostearate, monoglycerides, calcium sulfate, nutmeg, lactic acid, preserved with sodium propionate, sorbic acid and benzoic acid,

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.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E491 Sorbitan monostearate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
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  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • Hydrogenated oil Hydrogenation turns liquid oil into a solid fat that resists going rancid.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
7 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.
  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 377 cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 333rd. 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 0025600002278, last edited 25 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.