Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tower Gate Jam and Cream ultra-processed?

10 biscuits - 150g Biscuit filled with fruit paste Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tower Gate Jam and Cream

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:

  • 31 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed filled biscuits

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

wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), sugar, palm oil, raspberry jam 10% (glucose-fructose syrup, invert sugar syrup, sugar, raspberry purée, gelling agent (pectins), acidity regulator (sodium citrates), acid (citric acid)), glucose syrup, partially inverted refiners syrup, salt, raising agents (ammonium carbonates), sodium carbonates, emulsifier (soya lecithins), flavourings, skimmed milk, including cereals containing gluten, storage instructions

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E440 Pectins , E500 Sodium carbonates , E503 Ammonium carbonates

As written on the pack

wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), sugar, palm oil, 10% raspberry jam (glucose-fructose syrup, invert sugar syrup, sugar, raspberry purée, gelling agent: pectins, acidity regulator: sodium citrates, acid: citric acid), glucose syrup, partially inverted refiners syrup, salt, raising agents: ammonium carbonates, sodium carbonates, emulsifier: soya lecithins, flavourings, dried skimmed milk, allergy advice for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold, may also contain nuts, storage instructions

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.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • 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.
  • Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.

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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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 18 biscuit filled with fruit paste

From least to most processed, this one ranks 7th. 100% of the biscuit filled with fruit paste 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 18 biscuit filled with fruit paste, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 20423001, last edited 27 March 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.