Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Waitrose No1 Macarons ultra-processed?

Pastries Sold in the United Kingdom

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:

  • 105 ingredients
  • 7 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

Vanilla macaron 17% (sugar, almond flour, icing sugar, free range egg white, unsalted butter, almonds, pasteurised free range egg yolk, milk powder, Madagascan vanilla powder, Madagascan vanilla seeds), lemon macaron 17% (sugar, almond flour, icing sugar, free range egg white, lemon juice, corn starch, gelling agent (pectin), colour (curcumin)), salted caramel macaron 17% (sugar, almond flour, icing sugar, free range egg white, Belgian milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring), milk, whipping cream, unsalted butter, single cream, glucose syrup, colours (caramel, curcumin), milk proteins, sea salt, fleur de sel, Madagascan vanilla powder, salt), pistachio macaron 17% (sugar, icing sugar, almond flour, free range egg white, unsalted butter, pistachio nuts, almonds, pasteurised free range egg yolk, spirulina, flavouring, modified maize starch, potato starch, colour (curcumin), corn starch), raspberry macaron 16% (sugar, almond flour, icing sugar, free range egg white, raspberries, colours (beetroot red, carotenes), gelling agent (pectin), lemon juice), chocolate macaron 16% (icing sugar, sugar, free range egg white, almond flour, Belgian dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring), Belgian milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring), milk, whipping cream, hazelnuts, glucose syrup, invert sugar syrup, fat reduced cocoa powder, colour (beetroot red), cocoa powder)

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E150 Caramel , E160a Carotene , E162 Beetroot red , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E440 Pectins

As written on the pack

Vanilla macaron (17%) (sugar, almond flour, icing sugar, pasteurised free range egg white, unsalted butter (milk), almonds, pasteurised free range egg yolk, milk powder, Madagascan vanilla powder, Madagascan vanilla seeds), lemon macaron (17%) (sugar, almond flour, icing sugar, pasteurised free range egg white, lemon juice, corn starch, gelling agent (pectin), colour (curcumin)), salted caramel macaron (17%) (sugar, almond flour, icing sugar, pasteurised free range egg white, Belgian milk chocolate [sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring], milk, whipping cream (milk), unsalted butter (milk), single cream (milk), glucose syrup, colours (caramel, curcumin), milk proteins, sea salt, fleur de sel, Madagascan vanilla powder, salt), pistachio macaron (17%) (sugar, icing sugar, almond flour, pasteurised free range egg white, unsalted butter (milk), pistachio nuts, almonds, pasteurised free range egg yolk, spirulina, flavouring, modified maize starch, potato starch, colour (curcumin), corn starch), raspberry macaron (16%) (sugar, almond flour, icing sugar, pasteurised free range egg white, raspberries, colours (beetroot red, carotenes), gelling agent (pectin), lemon juice), chocolate macaron (16%) (icing sugar, sugar, pasteurised free range egg white, almond flour, Belgian dark chocolate [cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring], Belgian milk chocolate [sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring], milk, whipping cream (milk), hazelnuts, glucose syrup, invert sugar syrup, fat reduced cocoa powder, colour (beetroot red), cocoa powder)

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E150 Caramel A food additive authorised for industrial food production.
  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E162 Beetroot red Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of 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.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
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  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.
  • Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
7 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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • 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.
  • 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 205 pastries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 193rd. 87% of the pastries 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 205 pastries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169671689, last edited 22 July 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • 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.