Vanilla dessert
Unknown brand
Processing
4
Ultra-processed
Group 4 of 4 on the NOVA scale
Additives listed
4
0 we grade moderate or higher
2 of them not yet assessed here
Sugars per 100g
11g
Medium
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 3 thickeners and gelling agents and 1 emulsifier.
E407
Carrageenan
Thickener and stabiliser
What it is. A gel forming fibre extracted from red seaweed.
Why it is used. Thickens dairy, plant milks, desserts and some processed meats.
What the evidence says. Food grade carrageenan is permitted. A degraded form called poligeenan is harmful, but that is not what goes into food. Some lab and animal work links carrageenan to gut inflammation, which keeps it under review, but human evidence is limited and mixed.
Permitted, including in organic food in many places, though a few specialist products avoid it as a precaution.
Assessed against EFSA, JECFA. Full entry for E407
E471
Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
Emulsifier
What it is. Fat derived emulsifiers, closely related to ordinary dietary fats.
Why it is used. One of the most used additives in food: bread, margarine, ice cream, cakes and sauces.
What the evidence says. The body handles these much as it handles other fats, and EFSA's re-evaluation raised no safety concern at the levels used. They sit in the same broad emulsifier and gut microbiome research question as the others, which remains unsettled.
Permitted without a numerical limit. The fat source is not always stated, which matters for some diets rather than for safety.
Assessed against EFSA. Full entry for E471
Also on the label, not assessed here yet
- E412 Guar gum thickener
- E428 Gelatine thickener
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
Skimmed Milk, WHIPPING CREAM (13%) ALLERGY ADVICE (Milk), Water, Sugar, Modified Maize Starch, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Whey Concentrate (Milk) No artificial faroving NUTRITION Tipal Lactose (Mill, Beef Gelatine, Thickeners: Carrageenan, 115 Fa53 Guar Gum; Flavouring, Emulsifier: Lactic Acid Esters of 14.0g of which s Mono-and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids; Salt, Ground Salt 0.18 This po Extracted Vanilla Pod, Colour: Carotenes USE BY:Seed STORAGE p
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.