Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Water Biscuits ultra-processed?

Crackers (Appetizers) Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Water Biscuits

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 D

Less processed crackers (Appetizers)

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), Palm Oil, Salt, Glucose Syrup, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate)

Additives: E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Palm Oil, Salt, Glucose Syrup, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate).

What makes it ultra-processed

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.
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.

  • Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 715 crackers (Appetizers)

From least to most processed, this one ranks 442nd. 61% of the crackers (Appetizers) 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 715 crackers (Appetizers), least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000119014436, last edited 23 April 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.