Carrot cake with walnuts
Processing
4
Ultra-processed
Group 4 of 4 on the NOVA scale
Additives listed
4
0 we grade moderate or higher
3 of them not yet assessed here
Sugars per 100g
35g
High
UK FSA front of pack threshold
Three separate readings, kept apart on purpose. This is not a score, and none of it says this product is harmful.
Additives (4)
This label lists 2 raising agents, 1 colour and 1 thickener or gelling agent.
E415
Xanthan gum
Thickener and stabiliser
What it is. A fibre made by fermenting sugars with a bacterium, which thickens liquids at very low doses.
Why it is used. Thickens sauces and dressings and gives structure to gluten free baking.
What the evidence says. Passes through largely undigested and is treated as safe by regulators, with no numerical intake limit. Very large amounts act as fibre does, which is a digestive effect rather than a safety one.
Permitted freely.
Assessed against EFSA, JECFA. Full entry for E415
Also on the label, not assessed here yet
- E150A Plain caramel colour
- E450 Diphosphates raising agent
- E500 Sodium carbonates raising agent
Names and jobs come from the register of additives permitted in Great Britain, which we have not finished transcribing: a code shown without a name is a gap in our coverage, not a finding that it is unapproved. Naming one is not grading it either. Full detail appears only where we have an assessment against a named authority, so all of this describes our coverage rather than these additives. Most are common and low concern.
Ingredients
Wheatflour (contains Gluten) (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin) Sugar· Carrots (10%), Pasteurised Free Range Egg, Rapeseed Oil, Dark Brown Sugar· Orange Soaked Raisins (6%) (Raisins · Concentrated Orange Juice), Soft Brown Sugar, Full Fat Soft Cheese (Milk) (6%) · Butter (Milk), Humectant: Glycerol· Pineapple, Desiccated Coconut · Ground Spices (Cinnamon, Nutmeg · Cassia · Coriander, Caraway, Ginger, Cloves) · Golden Syrup (Invert Sugar Syrup), Nibbed Walnuts, Invert Sugar Syrup · Orange Zest, Colour: Plain Caramel · Raising Agent: Sodium Bicarbonate, E450 · Cornflour, Orange Peel, Salt, Stabiliser: Xanthan Gum, Lemon Peel.
As printed on the pack, in the producer's own order: ingredients are listed by weight, so what comes first is most of what is in it. E numbers link to their assessment where we have one.