Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Waitrose Spices Apple Hot Cross Buns ultra-processed?

4 Cakes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Waitrose Spices Apple Hot Cross Buns

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:

  • 41 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed cakes

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 (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), sultanas 19% (sultanas, water), water, apple 9% (apple, sugar, glucose-fructose syrup, acidity regulator (citric acid)), spiced Bramley apple compote 5% (Bramley apple, water, sugar, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, pimento, black pepper), yeast, invert sugar syrup, rapeseed oil, sugar, wheat gluten, salt, emulsifier (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids), potato starch, flavourings, mixed spices, cinnamon, palm fat, flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid)

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), soaked sultanas (19%) (sultanas, water), water, candied apple (9%) (apple, sugar, glucose-fructose syrup, acidity regulator (citric acid)), spiced Bramley apple compote (5%) (Bramley apple, water, sugar, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, pimento, black pepper), yeast, invert sugar syrup, rapeseed oil, sugar, wheat gluten, salt, emulsifier (mono - and diglycerides of fatty acids), potato starch, flavourings, mixed spices, ground cinnamon, palm fat (certified sustainable), flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid) ALLERGY ADVICE:

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 377 cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 195th. 94% of the cakes 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 377 cakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169640401, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.