Is Tesco Nutty Bites ultra-processed?

Nut bars Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
Vegetable fiber
E170 Calcium carbonates

13 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed nut bars

Original Peanut Butter Stuffed Oat Bars Pip & Nut 20 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Cashew Cookie Fruit & Nut Bar Nakd 2 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Original Peanut Butter Stuffed Oat Bar Pip & Nut 13 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Oat Bar Pip & Nut 13 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3

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

Date Paste, Cashew Nut 24%, Almond 7%, Chicory Fibre (ultra-processing marker), Soya Flour, Oats, Soya Protein Isolate, Cocoa Beans, Pecan Nut 1.5%, Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Tapioca Starch (processing marker), Calcium Carbonate (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker)

Additives: E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate

As written on the pack

Date Paste, Cashew Nut (24%), Almond (7%), Chicory Fibre, Soya Flour, Oats, Soya Protein Isolate, Cocoa Beans, Pecan Nut (1.5%), Flavouring,Tapioca Starch, Stabiliser (Calcium Carbonate), Salt.

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.

E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
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.

Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.

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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 130 nut bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 61st. 84% of the nut 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 130 nut bars, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697729829, last edited 7 August 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.