Ascorbic acid (E300)

No. Ascorbic acid (E300) 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

Ascorbic acid is vitamin C. It is used as an antioxidant to stop cut fruit and other foods browning, and in flour to strengthen dough.

A product that contains it can still be ultra-processed for other reasons: 1,554 of the 1,925 products here that contain ascorbic acid (E300) (81%) are in group 4 because of other ingredients or additives.

Function

Antioxidant: Antioxidants are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by oxidation, such as fat rancidity and colour changes.
Sequestrant: Sequestrants are substances which form chemical complexes with metallic ions.

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

More about ascorbic acid (E300) on Wikidata

Where it turns up

Ascorbic acid (E300) appears in 1,925 of the 40,000 products on this site (5%).

Breads 206 of 2,388 products
Sliced breads 89 of 389 products
White breads 63 of 367 products
Sausages 51 of 337 products
Baguettes 42 of 67 products
Wholemeal breads 39 of 102 products

Products containing ascorbic acid (E300)

Showing the 60 most popular of 1,925.

How the NOVA classification works