Is it ultra-processed?
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Is The Hershey Company The original malted milk balls ultra-processed?

5 OZ (141 g) Bonbons Sold in the United States

Pack of The Hershey Company The original malted milk balls

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:

  • 20 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed bonbons

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

Sugar, corn syrup solids, whey, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, palm kernel oil, corn syrup, cocoa, milk (barley malt, wheat flour, milk, salt, baking soda), sorbitan tristearate, lecithin, confectioner's glaze, salt, artificial flavor, tapioca dextrin, calcium carbonate

Additives: E1400 Dextrin , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E492 Sorbitan tristearate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Sugar; corn syrup solids; whey (milk); hydrogenated palm kernel oil; palm kernel oil; corn syrup; cocoa; malted milk [barley malt; wheat flour; milk; salt; baking soda]; sorbitan tristearate; lecithin (soy); confectioner's glaze; salt; artificial flavor; tapioca dextrin; calcium carbonate.

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.

  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • 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.
  • E492 Sorbitan tristearate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • 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.

  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.
  • 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 193 bonbons

From least to most processed, this one ranks 96th. 94% of the bonbons 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 193 bonbons, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0010700024404, last edited 7 July 2025), 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.