Acetic acid (E260)

No. Acetic acid (E260) is not one of the markers Open Food Facts uses to classify a food as processed or ultra-processed, so on its own it doesn't raise a product's NOVA group.

What it is

Acetic acid is the acid in vinegar, used to regulate acidity and preserve.

A product that contains it can still be ultra-processed for other reasons: 398 of the 516 products here that contain acetic acid (E260) (77%) are in group 4 because of other ingredients or additives.

Function

Preservative: Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.

Functional class definitions from the EU food additives regulation, via Open Food Facts.

More about acetic acid (E260) on Wikidata

Where it turns up

Acetic acid (E260) appears in 516 of the 40,000 products on this site (1%).

Hot sauces 48 of 184 products
Mango chutneys 19 of 23 products
Sauces 16 of 2,964 products
Hummus 13 of 223 products
Meals with chicken 13 of 213 products
Curry pastes 11 of 77 products

Products containing acetic acid (E260)

Showing the 60 most popular of 516.

How the NOVA classification works