Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Mint Humbugs ultra-processed?

200 g Hard candies Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Pack of Tesco Mint Humbugs

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:

  • 11 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed hard candies

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

Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Palm Oil, Skimmed Milk, Invert Sugar Syrup, Plain Caramel, Butteroil, Salt, Flavourings, Lecithins, VSuitable for

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E322 Lecithins

As written on the pack

Glucose Syrup. Sugar. Palm Oil, Condensed Skimmed Milk. Invert Sugar Syrup, Colour (Plain Caramel), Butteroil (Milk), Salt. Flavourings. Emulsifier (Lecithins). Allergy Advice For allergens, see ingredients in bold. VSuitable for vegetarians

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Candies Products in the category "Candies" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 15 hard candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 87% of the hard candies 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 15 hard candies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5052320529698, last edited 14 September 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.