Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Milk Chocolate Oaties ultra-processed?

300g Chocolate-covered biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Tesco Milk Chocolate Oaties

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate biscuits

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 30%, Milk Chocolate 25% (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Skimmed Milk, Cocoa Mass, Whey Powder, Milk Fat, Soya Lecithins, Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate, Palm Oil, Sal Fat, Shea Fat), Sugar, Palm Oil, Wheat Flour, Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin, Wheat Flour, Glucose Syrup, Sodium Bicarbonate, Ammonium Hydrogen Carbonate, Salt, Flavouring

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

As written on the pack

Oats (30%). Milk Chocolate (25%) [Sugar. Cocoa Butter. Dried Skimmed Milk. Cocoa Mass. Whey Powder (Milk). Milk Fat. Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithins. Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate). Palm Oil. Sal Fat. Shea Fat]. Sugar. Palm Oil. Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour. Calcium Carbonate. Iron, Niacin, Thiamin). Wholemeal Wheat Flour. Glucose Syrup. Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate. Ammonium Hydrogen Carbonate). Salt. Flavouring.

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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • 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.
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 24 chocolate-covered biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 14th. 96% of the chocolate-covered biscuits 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 24 chocolate-covered biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5051790651557, last edited 5 June 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.