Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Thorntons Classic Assorted Chocolates ultra-processed?

262g Assorted chocolate candies Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Thorntons Classic Assorted Chocolates

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:

  • 53 ingredients
  • 8 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, dried whole milk, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, glucose syrup, palm oil, coconut oil, hazelnuts, butter, sweetened condensed milk (whole milk, sugar), lactose, dextrose, double cream, milk fat, skimmed milk, whole milk, fat reduced cocoa powder, humectant (sorbitol), emulsifiers (soya lecithin, e471, sunflower lecithin), invert sugar syrup, single cream, flavourings, rice flour, almonds, maize flour, whey, salt, strawberry powder, acid (citric acid), colour (beetroot red), egg white, margarine, palm oil, rapeseed oil, water, emulsifier (e471), flavouring, vitamins, vitamin a, vitamin d, vanilla seeds, raising agent (sodium bicarbonate), milk protein

Additives: E162 Beetroot red , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E420 Sorbitol , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

sugar, dried whole milk, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, glucose syrup, palm oil, coconut oil, hazelnuts, butter (milk), sweetened condensed milk (whole milk, sugar), lactose (milk), dextrose, double cream (milk), milk fat, dried skimmed milk, whole milk, fat reduced cocoa powder, humectant (sorbitol), emulsifiers (soya lecithin, e471, sunflower lecithin), invert sugar syrup, single cream (milk), flavourings, rice flour, almonds, maize flour, dried whey (milk), salt, strawberry powder, acid (citric acid), colour (beetroot red), dried egg white, margarine (palm oil, rapeseed oil, water, emulsifier (e471), flavouring, vitamin a, vitamin d), vanilla seeds, raising agent (sodium bicarbonate), milk protein, may also contain: other nuts,

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.

  • E162 Beetroot red Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of 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.
  • E420 Sorbitol Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener and to keep products moist.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
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  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
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  • 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.
7 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.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 19 assorted chocolate candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 14th. 100% of the assorted chocolate candies 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 19 assorted chocolate candies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5016346516766, last edited 16 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.