Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Instant hot chocolate ultra-processed?

Instant beverages Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Instant hot chocolate

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:

  • 17 ingredients
  • 3 additives

Less processed instant beverages

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

NUTRITION When pre with 200 Typical Energy Fat Whey Powder, Sugar, Dried Skimmed of which Milk Glucose Syrup, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder 13%, Coconut Oil, Flavouring, Thickener (Xanthan Gum), Milk Proteins, Stabiliser (Potassium Phosphates), Anti-caking Agent (Silicon Dioxide), Rainforest Alliance Certified™M, For more see (ra.org, mb Allergy Advice)

Additives: E340 Potassium phosphates , E415 Xanthan gum , E551 Silicon dioxide

As written on the pack

NUTRITION When pre with 200 Typical Energy Fat Whey Powder (Milk), Sugar, Dried Skimmed of which Milk Glucose Syrup, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder** (13%), Coconut Oil, Flavouring, Thickener (Xanthan Gum), Milk Proteins, Stabiliser (Potassium Phosphates), Anti-caking Agent (Silicon Dioxide). **Rainforest Alliance Certified™M. For more see: ra.org/mb Allergy Advice

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.

  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E551 Silicon dioxide 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.
  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 197 instant beverages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 152nd. 57% of the instant beverages 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 197 instant beverages, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057545713495, 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.