Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tunnock's Dark chocolate coated caramel wafer biscuits ultra-processed?

8 x 30 g Chocolate candies Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tunnock's Dark chocolate coated 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:

  • 28 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate candies

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 cond invert sugar syrup, palm oil, flavouring, emulsifier (soya lecithin)), chocolate 33% (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, skimmed mil palm oil, shea butter, emulsifier, flavouring), wafe (fortified wheat flour, wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, nia thiaminl, sugar, rapeseed oil, raising agent (sodium bicarbonate)), emulsifier, see ingredients in b

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

caramel (50%) (glucose syrup, sugar, sweetened cond invert sugar syrup, palm oil, flavouring, emulsifier [soya lecithin]) chocolate (33%) (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, skimmed mil palm oil, shea butter, emulsifier [soya lecithin], flavouring), wafe (fortified wheat flour [wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, nia thiaminl, sugar, rapeseed oil, raising agent [sodium bicarbonate), emulsifier [soya lecithin]). for allergens: see ingredients in b

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.
  • 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.

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.
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.

  • 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 776 chocolate candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 493rd. 91% of the 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 776 chocolate candies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010975088205, last edited 21 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.