McVitie's Butter Cookie — DUMP
Munch or Dump rates McVitie's Butter Cookie by Mcvitie's DUMP — score 17/90.
A refined-flour, sugar, and palm-oil cookie dressed up with artificial butter and vanilla flavors plus a sulfite preservative. The 'high in calcium' badge is window dressing on what is essentially candy in biscuit form.
Why this verdict
- Sugar plus invert sugar syrup are two stacked sweeteners high on the list
- Refined flour + sugar + palm oil = the classic hyper-palatable, blood-sugar-spiking triad
- Artificial butter and vanilla flavors fake a premium taste real ingredients don't deliver
- Two emulsifiers (glycerol monostearate, soy lecithin) mark it as ultra-processed
- Sodium metabisulfite is a sulfite preservative that can trigger reactions in sensitive people
Ingredients (14)
- wheat flour (moderate) — Thickening agent, not harmful but adds processing.
- Sugar (moderate) — Added for sweetness, can contribute to calorie content.
- Palm oil (with E319 antioxidant) (concerning) — Refined high-saturated-fat oil; E319 (TBHQ) is a synthetic antioxidant.
- Butter (3%) (moderate) — Real dairy fat but only a token 3% despite the 'butter cookie' name.
- Partially inverted sugar syrup (concerning) — A third added-sugar source; inverted syrup is fast-absorbing glucose and fructose.
- Corn Starch (moderate) — Refined starch for texture; part of the hyper-palatable structure.
- Raising agents (ammonium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate) (safe) — Standard leavening agents; benign in these amounts.
- Calcium carbonate (1%) (safe) — Fortification mineral behind the 'high in calcium' claim; harmless but cosmetic here.
- Skimmed Milk Powder (safe) — Milk solids in the fillings.
- Salt (moderate) — Used in moderation, might exceed necessary amount.
- Glycerol monostearate (moderate) — Emulsifier; a marker of ultra-processing.
- Soy Lecithin (safe) — Common emulsifier, generally benign in these amounts.
- Artificial flavors (butter, vanilla) (moderate) — Synthetic flavorings faking the taste of real butter and vanilla.
- Antioxidant (sodium metabisulfite) (concerning) — Sulfite preservative that can trigger reactions in sulfite-sensitive and asthmatic people.