Light Hot Chocolate Drink
Processing
4
Ultra-processed
Group 4 of 4 on the NOVA scale
Additives listed
5
0 we grade moderate or higher
3 of them not yet assessed here
Sugars per 100g
40.60g
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 (5)
This label lists 2 thickeners and gelling agents, 1 acidity regulator, 1 anticaking agent and 1 sweetener.
E466
Carboxymethyl cellulose
Thickener and stabiliser
What it is. A modified plant fibre used to thicken and stabilise.
Why it is used. Common in ice cream, low fat products, gluten free bakery and sauces.
What the evidence says. Falls in the same emulsifier and gut research bucket as polysorbate 80, with early human work hinting at effects on the microbiome. Interesting, not conclusive.
Permitted with limits.
Assessed against EFSA. Full entry for E466
E955
Sucralose
Artificial sweetener
What it is. An intense sweetener made from sugar, around 600 times sweeter, so it is used in very small amounts.
Why it is used. Sweetens diet drinks, tabletop sweeteners, dairy and baked goods.
What the evidence says. Regulators have treated it as safe for decades and the acceptable daily intake has not changed. Newer laboratory work on a breakdown product, and the general question of sweeteners and the gut microbiome, keep it under discussion, but that work is early and has not moved any official position.
Permitted with an acceptable daily intake in all three regions.
Assessed against EFSA, JECFA. Full entry for E955
Also on the label, not assessed here yet
- E339 Sodium phosphates acidity regulator
- E412 Guar gum thickener
- E551 Silicon dioxide anticaking 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
Whey Powder (𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤), Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder* (21%), Dried Glucose Syrup, Belgian 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Chocolate Powder (7%) (Sugar, Cocoa Mass*, Whole 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Powder, Cocoa Butter*, Skimmed 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Powder), Skimmed 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤 Powder, Flavourings (Contain 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤), Anticaking Agent: Silicon Dioxide; Coconut Oil, Salt, Thickeners: Carboxymethyl Cellulose, Guar Gum; Sweetener: Sucralose; Stabiliser: Sodium Phosphates.
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.