Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Waitrose 4 All Butter Scones ultra-processed?

Scones Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Waitrose 4 All Butter Scones

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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed pastries

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

fortified wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), buttermilk, sugar, butter, free range egg, disodium diphosphate, potassium hydrogen carbonate, vegetable glycerol, wheat gluten, salt, potassium sorbate, water, including cereals containing gluten

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E422 Glycerol , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E501 Potassium carbonates , E501ii Potassium hydrogen carbonate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E422 Glycerol.

As written on the pack

FORTIFIED WHEAT FLOUR (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), buttermilk, sugar, butter (milk) (10%), pasteurised free range egg, raising agents disodium diphosphate and potassium hydrogen carbonate; humectant: vegetable glycerol, wheat gluten, salt, preservative potassium sorbate, water. ALLERGY ADVICE: For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, See ingredients in bold. May also Contain nuts, peanuts and sesame.

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.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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 10 scones

From least to most processed, this one ranks 7th. 100% of the scones 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 10 scones, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169229033, last edited 22 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.