Is The Dessert Menu Protein Pancakes ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 21 ingredients
- 5 additives
- Nutri-Score A
Less processed pancakes
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
wheat flour, water, egg, whey protein (ultra-processing marker), rapeseed oil, sugar (processing marker), skimmed milk powder (processing marker), wheat fibre (ultra-processing marker), raising agents (sodium carbonates), calcium phosphates, wheat gluten (ultra-processing marker), vinegar, flavouring (ultra-processing marker), acidity regulator (citric acid), salt (processing marker), preservative (processing marker) (potassium sorbate (processing marker)), emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (lecithins (ultra-processing marker))
Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E322 Lecithins , E330 Citric acid , E341 Calcium phosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates
As written on the pack
wheat flour, water, pasteurised egg, whey protein (milk), rapeseed oil, sugar, skimmed milk powder, wheat fibre, raising agents: sodium carbonates, calcium phosphates, wheat gluten, vinegar, flavouring, acidity regulator citric acid, salt, preservative: potassium sorbate, emulsifier: 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.
- 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.
- Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
- Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
- 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.
5 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.
- E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
- Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
- Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.
Among 55 pancakes
From least to most processed, this one ranks 51st. 85% of the pancakes here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600554112, last edited 28 July 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 A (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.