Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Thorntons Thornton's fudge brownie bites ultra-processed?

Brownies Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Thorntons Thornton's fudge brownie bites

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:

  • 66 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed brownies

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

Milk chocolate 30% (sugar, dried whole MILK, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, MILK fat, emulsifier (SOYA lecithin)), sugar, EGG, WHEAT flour (WHEAT flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), toffee sauce (sugar, glucose syrup, double cream, butter, whole MILK, water, modified maize starch, humectant (sorbitol syrup), invert sugar syrup, salt, preservative (potassium sorbate), lactose), palm oil, chocolate fudge cubes 5% (sugar, glucose syrup, whole MILK, palm oil, cocoa mass, invert sugar syrup, double cream, humectant (sorbitol syrup), cocoa butter, butter, skimmed MILK, dextrose, anhydrous MILK fat, emulsifier (SOYA lecithin), fat reduced cocoa powder, salt, dried whole MILK, EGG white, acidity regulator (sodium hydrogen carbonate), lactose, hydrolysed MILK proteins), fat reduced cocoa powder, rapeseed oil, glucose syrup, salt, preservative (potassium sorbate), emulsifier (e471), including cereals containing gluten

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E420 Sorbitol , E420ii Sorbitol syrup , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: Hydrolysed proteins.

As written on the pack

Milk chocolate (30%) [sugar, dried whole MILK, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, MILK fat, emulsifier (SOYA lecithin)], sugar, pasteurised EGG, WHEAT flour (WHEAT flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), toffee sauce [sugar, glucose syrup, double cream (MILK), butter (MILK), whole MILK, water, modified maize starch, humectant (sorbitol syrup), invert sugar syrup, salt, preservative (potassium sorbate), lactose (MILK)], palm oil, chocolate fudge cubes (5%) [sugar, glucose syrup, whole MILK, palm oil, cocoa mass, invert sugar syrup, double cream (MILK), humectant (sorbitol syrup), cocoa butter, butter (MILK), dried skimmed MILK, dextrose, anhydrous MILK fat, emulsifier (SOYA lecithin), fat reduced cocoa powder, salt, dried whole MILK, dried EGG white, acidity regulator (sodium hydrogen carbonate), lactose (MILK), hydrolysed MILK proteins], fat reduced cocoa powder, rapeseed oil, glucose syrup, salt, preservative (potassium sorbate), emulsifier (E471). For ALLERGENS, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in BOLD. MAY ALSO CONTAIN: 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.

  • 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.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • 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.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
  • Hydrolysed proteins An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
  • 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.
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  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
8 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.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • 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 29 brownies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 27th. 93% of the brownies 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 29 brownies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5030765038913, last edited 8 May 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.