Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Waitrose No1 Belgian Chocolate Biscuit Selection ultra-processed?

Biscuits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Waitrose No1 Belgian Chocolate Biscuit Selection

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:

  • 46 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed biscuits

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, sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring, palm fat, Belgian milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, lactose, milk, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring), rapeseed oil, coconut oil, free range egg white, coconut, free range egg, almonds, hazelnuts, skimmed milk powder, invert sugar syrup, lactose, sunflower oil, hazelnut oil, soya flour, whole milk powder, cocoa powder, wheat starch, flavourings, coffee, emulsifiers (soya lecithin, sunflower lecithin), raising agents (ammonium carbonates, sodium bicarbonate), cocoa butter, vanilla extract

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates

As written on the pack

wheat flour, sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring, palm fat (certified sustainable), Belgian milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, lactose, milk, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring), rapeseed oil, coconut oil, dried pasteurised free range egg white, coconut, pasteurised free range egg, almonds, hazelnuts, skimmed milk powder, invert sugar syrup, lactose, sunflower oil, hazelnut oil, soya flour, whole milk powder, cocoa powder, wheat starch, flavourings, coffee, emulsifiers (soya lecithin, sunflower lecithin), raising agents (ammonium carbonates, sodium bicarbonate), cocoa butter, vanilla extract

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.

  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
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.

  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1024th. 83% of the biscuits 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 1,514 biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169675151, last edited 21 June 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.