Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco coconut & chocolate granola bars ultra-processed?

180g Chocolate cereal bars Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Tesco coconut & chocolate granola bars

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed cereal 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

Oats 35%, Dark Chocolate Chips 15% (Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Palm Oil, Shea Fat, Sal Fat, Soya Lecithins, Ammonium Phosphatides, Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate, Cocoa Butter, Flavouring), Palm Oil, Sugar, Wheat Flour, Desiccated Coconut 6%, Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Hydrogen Carbonate, Salt, Whey Derivatives, Flavouring, Dark Chocolate contains (Cocoa solids 35%)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E442 Ammonium phosphatides , E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Oats (35%), Dark Chocolate Chips (15%) [Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Palm Oil, Shea Fat, Sal Fat, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithins, Ammonium Phosphatides, Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate), Cocoa Butter, Flavouring], Palm Oil, Sugar, Wholemeal Wheat Flour, Desiccated Coconut (6%), Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Hydrogen Carbonate), Salt, Whey Derivatives (Milk), Flavouring. Dark Chocolate contains: Cocoa solids 35% minimum

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.
  • E442 Ammonium phosphatides 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.
  • E476 Polyglycerol polyricinoleate Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) is an emulsifier made from castor oil.
  • 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.

  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
4 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • 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 62 chocolate cereal bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 34th. 100% of the chocolate cereal 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 62 chocolate cereal bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057753493493, last edited 26 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.