Is Tesco Belgian chocolate éclairs ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 32 ingredients
- 2 additives
Less processed pastries
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
cream, egg, wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), sugar (processing marker), rapeseed oil, belgian milk chocolate 6% (sugar (processing marker), dried whole milk (processing marker), cocoa butter, cocoa mass, emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (soya lecithins (ultra-processing marker)), flavouring (ultra-processing marker)), belgian dark chocolate 3%, cocoa mass, sugar (processing marker), emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (soya lecithins (ultra-processing marker)), flavouringl, dextrose (ultra-processing marker), palm oil, dried glucose syrup (ultra-processing marker), milk proteins (ultra-processing marker), stabiliser (pectin (ultra-processing marker)), including cereals containing also, nuut
Additives: E322 Lecithins , E440 Pectins
As written on the pack
cream (milk) (38%), pasteurised egg, wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron. niacin, thiamin), sugar, rapeseed oil, belgian milk chocolate (6%) [sugar, dried whole milk. cocoa butter, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soya lecithins), flavouring], belgian dark chocolate (3%) [cocoa mass, sugar, emulsifier (soya lecithins), flavouringl, dextrose, palm oil, dried glucose syrup, milk proteins, stabiliser (pectin). allergy advice for allergens, including cereals containing also, may contain peanuts and nuut
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.
- E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
- 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.
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.
- Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
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.
- 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.
Among 205 pastries
From least to most processed, this one ranks 151st. 87% of the pastries here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5050179607215, 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.
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.