Tesco 4 Filled Muffins - Salted Caramel — DUMP

Munch or Dump rates Tesco 4 Filled Muffins - Salted Caramel by Tesco DUMP — score 20/90.

A lab-built dessert: refined flour, sugar and oil padded out with modified starches, multiple emulsifiers, syrups and preservatives across 25+ ingredients.

Why this verdict

• 25+ ingredients, NOVA group 4 ultra-processed
• Six distinct sweetener sources stacked into one product
• Modified maize starch plus tapioca, wheat and corn starch padding
• Multiple emulsifiers and a synthetic preservative (potassium sorbate)
• Sugar + refined oil + refined flour = the craving triad

Ingredients (20)

• Wheat flour (fortified) (moderate) — Refined white flour, fast-digesting carbs with little fibre; fortification adds back iron and B vitamins it lost.
• Sugar (moderate) — Added sugar sitting ahead of cocoa; the main flavor driver here.
• rapeseed oil (moderate) — Refined seed oil; fine in small amounts as used here.
• egg (safe) — Real egg adds protein and structure.
• glucose syrup (moderate) — A second refined sweetener used for the caramel character; fast-absorbing sugar with no nutritional value.
• Modified Maize Starch (moderate) — Industrially altered starch used as a thickener; a NOVA 4 ultra-processing marker.
• Concentrated butter (milk) (moderate) — Concentrated milk fat adding richness and saturated fat to an already calorie-dense bar.
• Pectin (thickener) (safe) — Plant-derived thickener; benign but another processing aid.
• Potassium sorbate (preservative) (moderate) — A common, generally-safe preservative to stop spoilage; minor and well-tolerated.
• Mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids (emulsifier) (moderate) — Industrial emulsifier; emerging evidence links emulsifiers to gut-microbiome disruption.
• Milk chocolate chips (moderate) — Sugar-and-cocoa chips with added emulsifier and flavouring; indulgent, not nutritious.
• Soya lecithins (emulsifier) (moderate) — A second emulsifier stacked in the chocolate; another ultra-processing flag.
• Salted fudge cubes (palm oil, skimmed milk) (concerning) — Sugar-and-palm-oil inclusion adding saturated fat and more sweetness.
• CELLULOSE (moderate) — Refined plant fibre used as a bulking/anti-caking agent in the fudge.
• Whey powder (milk) (moderate) — A cheap dairy filler/protein; common in milk chocolate.
• Cornflour / wheat starch / tapioca starch (concerning) — Multiple refined starches padding texture and volume; classic ultra-processed bulking.
• Raising agents (disodium diphosphate, potassium carbonate) (moderate) — Chemical leavening; functional but part of the additive stack.
• Caramelised sugar syrup / powder (concerning) — Yet more added-sugar sources for colour and sweetness.
• flavouring (moderate) — Undefined flavour additive; opaque label with no detail on what's in it.
• milk proteins (moderate) — Isolated dairy protein used as a texturiser/filler.