Is Thomas Tunnock Ltd Tunnocks Teacakes Chocolate 6pk ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 28 ingredients
- 6 additives
- Nutri-Score E
Less processed chocolate cakes
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Mallow 38% (Sugar (processing marker), Glucose syrup (ultra-processing marker), Egg white), Milk chocolate 34% (Sugar (processing marker), Cocoa butter (processing marker), Cocoa mass, Standardised whole milk, Skimmed milk powder (processing marker), Palm oil, Shea butter (processing marker) (soya lecithin (ultra-processing marker)), Flavouring (ultra-processing marker)), Biscuit 28% (Fortified wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, niacin, iron, folic acid, thiamin), Vegetable oil (processing marker) (palm Vegetable oil, rapeseed Vegetable oil), Sugar (processing marker), sodium bicarbonate, disodium diphosphate (ultra-processing marker))
Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate
As written on the pack
Mallow (38%) (Sugar, Glucose syrup, Egg white), Milk chocolate (34%) (Sugar, Cocoa butter, Cocoa mass, Standardised whole milk, Skimmed milk powder, Palm oil, Shea butter, Emulsifier [soya lecithin], Flavouring), Biscuit (28%) (Fortified wheat flour [wheat flour, calcium carbonate, niacin, iron, folic acid, thiamin], Vegetable oil [palm, rapeseed], Sugar, Raising agents [sodium bicarbonate, disodium diphosphate]).
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.
- E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
- Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
- Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
- Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
- Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.
Among 67 chocolate cakes
From least to most processed, this one ranks 27th. 97% of the chocolate cakes here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010975030020, last edited 3 October 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.