Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Uncle Tobys Plus ultra-processed?

756g Breakfast cereals Sold in Australia

Pack of Uncle Tobys Plus

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed breakfast cereals

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

Whole Grain Wheat 47%, Corn, Fruits (Cranberries (Cranberries 5.5%, Sugar, Humectant (Glycerine), Sunflower Oil), Blueberry Fruity Pieces (Blueberries 1.5%, Sugar, Dextrose, Humectant (Glycerine), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Vegetable Gum (Pectin), Rice Flour, Wheat Fibre)), Sugar, Wheat Bran, Oat Fibre, Salt, Flavour, Malt Extract (Barley)

Additives: E422 Glycerol , E440 Pectins

As written on the pack

Whole Grain Wheat (47%), Corn, Fruits [Sweetened Cranberries (Cranberries (5.5%), Sugar, Humectant (Glycerine), Sunflower Oil), Blueberry Fruity Pieces (Blueberries (1.5%), Sugar, Dextrose, Humectant (Glycerine), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Vegetable Gum (Pectin), Rice Flour, Wheat Fibre)], Sugar, Wheat Bran, Oat Fibre, Salt, Flavour, Malt Extract (Barley).

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.

  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.

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.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,868 breakfast cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1820th. 60% of the breakfast cereals 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 1,868 breakfast cereals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9300605132610, last edited 6 May 2022), 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.