Is Waitrose Butter croissant ultra-processed?

Butter croissants Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Gluten

13 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score E

Less processed butter croissants

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

Wheat flour, butter (processing marker) 24%, water, sugar (processing marker), yeast, wheat gluten (ultra-processing marker), free range egg, salt (processing marker), flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid), enzyme ALLERGY ADVICE, including cereals containing gluten, Bake from frozen

Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid

As written on the pack

Wheat flour, butter (milk) 24%, water, sugar, yeast, wheat gluten, pasteurised free range egg, salt, flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid), enzyme ALLERGY ADVICE: For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. May contain nuts and sesame seeds Bake from frozen.

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

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.

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 20 butter croissants

From least to most processed, this one ranks 16th. 65% of the butter croissants 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 20 butter croissants, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169304143, last edited 27 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.