Is Tunnock's 10 Tea Cakes ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 27 ingredients
- 6 additives
- Nutri-Score E
Less processed chocolate biscuits
-
Choco Chip Biscuits
Gullón
1 ingredient · no additives
NOVA group
3
-
Chocolate Gingers
Island Bakery
22 ingredients · 2 additives
NOVA group
3
-
Oat Crumbles
Island Bakery
14 ingredients · 2 additives
NOVA group
3
-
Duchy Organic Stem Ginger Biscuits Coated in Dark Chocolate
Duchy Organic
20 ingredients · 2 additives
NOVA group
3
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, fron, niacin, thiamini, 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, fron, niacin, thiamini, 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 301 chocolate biscuits
From least to most processed, this one ranks 141st. 95% of the chocolate biscuits here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010975070408, last edited 30 April 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.