Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Biscuits ultra-processed?

8 x 30g Wafers Sold in the United Kingdom and Australia

Pack of Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Biscuits

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed wafers

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

caramel 50% (glucose syrup, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, invert sugar syrup, palm oil, flavouring, soya lecithin (e322)), milk chocolate 33% (sugar, cocoa solids 25%, milk 14%, blend of palm oil, shea butter, soya lecithin, wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin, salt, soya lecithin (e322))

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

caramel 50% (glucose syrup, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, invert sugar syrup, palm oil, flavouring, emulsifier: soya lecithin (e322)) milk chocolate 33% (sugar, cocoa solids (min 25%), milk solids (min 14%), blend of palm oil and shea butter, emulsifier: soya lecithin (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), salt, emulsifier: soya lecithin (e322))

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.
  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
4 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.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 56 wafers

From least to most processed, this one ranks 30th. 91% of the wafers 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 56 wafers, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010975070095, last edited 5 September 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.