Is Waitrose Richly fruited hot cross buns ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 42 ingredients
- 3 additives
- Nutri-Score D
Less processed breads
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Crafted Signature Sourdough Bread
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7 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
1
-
Slow Fermented White Sourdough Toastie Loaf
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9 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
1
-
Rye sourdough flatbread - M&S Food
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7 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
1
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Spelt Sourdough Bread
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8 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
1
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, folic acid, iron, niacin, thiamin), mixed vine fruits 33% (sultanas (sultanas, water), raisins (raisins, water), soaked Chilean flame raisins (Chilean flame raisins, water), currants (currants, sunflower oil (processing marker))), water, yeast, free range egg, mixed peel 2% (orange peel, lemon peel, glucose syrup (ultra-processing marker), sugar (processing marker)), potato starch (processing marker), rapeseed oil, unsalted butter (processing marker), invert sugar syrup (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), wheat gluten (ultra-processing marker), mixed spices, flavourings (ultra-processing marker), palm fat, flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid), emulsifiers (ultra-processing marker) (mono- and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (ultra-processing marker), mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (ultra-processing marker))
Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
As written on the pack
Wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, folic acid, iron, niacin, thiamin), mixed vine fruits (33%) (soaked sultanas (sultanas, water), soaked raisins (raisins, water), soaked Chilean flame raisins (Chilean flame raisins, water), currants (currants, sunflower oil)), water, yeast, pasteurised free range egg, mixed peel (2.0%) (orange peel, lemon peel, glucose syrup, sugar), potato starch, rapeseed oil, unsalted butter (milk), invert sugar syrup, salt, wheat gluten, mixed spices, flavourings, palm fat (certified sustainable), flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid), emulsifiers (mono - and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono - and diglycerides of fatty acids, mono - and diglycerides of fatty acids)
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.
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
- E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
- 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.
- 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.
- Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
- Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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.
- 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 oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
Among 2,390 breads
From least to most processed, this one ranks 2308th. 71% of the breads here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169640364, last edited 13 July 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 D (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.