Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco finest Salted caramel & chocolate hot cross buns ultra-processed?

Bakery products Sold in the United Kingdom

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:

  • 46 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed bakery products

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

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Salted Caramel Fudge Pieces 11% (Sugar, Palm Oil, Glucose Syrup, Milk, Water, Shea Fat, Salt, Maize Starch, Thickener (Powdered Cellulose), Milk Sugar, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithins)), Dark Chocolate Chips 8% (Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithins)), Palm Oil, Wheat Gluten, Demerara Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Yeast, Emulsifiers (mono- and DiGlycerides of Fatty Acids, mono- and DiAcetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of mono- and DiGlycerides of Fatty Acids), Caramelised Sugar Syrup, Salt, Potato Dextrin, Flavouring, Rapeseed Oil, Mixed Spices, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), including cereals containing gluten, Also, ✓ St STORAGE

Additives: E1400 Dextrin , E300 Ascorbic acid , E322 Lecithins , E460 Cellulose , E460ii Powdered cellulose , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Water, Salted Caramel Fudge Pieces (11%) [Sugar, Palm Oil, Glucose Syrup, Milk, Water, Shea Fat, Salt, Maize Starch, Thickener (Powdered Cellulose), Milk Sugar, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithins)], Dark Chocolate Chips (8%) [Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithins)], Palm Oil, Wheat Gluten, Demerara Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Yeast, Emulsifiers (Mono - and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids, Mono - and Di-Acetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono - and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Caramelised Sugar Syrup, Salt, Potato Dextrin, Flavouring, Rapeseed Oil, Mixed Spices, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid). Allergy Advice For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. Also, may contain sesame seeds and egg. ✓ St Suitable for vegetarians STORAGE

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.

  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • 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.
  • E460 Cellulose A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids 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.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
Show 2 more
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
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.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 43 bakery products

From least to most processed, this one ranks 43rd. 60% of the bakery products 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 43 bakery products, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057753905712, 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.
  • 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.