Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Pains au chocolat ultra-processed?

Chocolate croissant Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Pains au chocolat

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed viennoiseries

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), Dark Chocolate 22%, Butter, Water, Sugar, Yeast, Salt, Egg, Skimmed Milk, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), Dark Chocolate contains (Sugar), Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Anhydrous Milk Fat, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithins)

Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid , E322 Lecithins

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Dark Chocolate (22%), Butter (Milk) (18%), Water, Sugar, Yeast, Salt, Pasteurised Egg, Dried Skimmed Milk, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid). Dark Chocolate contains: Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Anhydrous Milk Fat, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithins).

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.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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 21 chocolate croissant

From least to most processed, this one ranks 5th. 100% of the chocolate croissant 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 21 chocolate croissant, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000436733607, last edited 8 May 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.