Sodium ascorbate (E301)

No. Sodium ascorbate (E301) 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

Sodium ascorbate is the sodium salt of vitamin C, used as an antioxidant, often in cured meats.

A product that contains it can still be ultra-processed for other reasons: 461 of the 578 products here that contain sodium ascorbate (E301) (80%) 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.

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

More about sodium ascorbate (E301) on Wikidata

Where it turns up

Sodium ascorbate (E301) appears in 578 of the 40,000 products on this site (1%).

Hams 63 of 223 products
White hams 42 of 65 products
Bacon 33 of 109 products
Frozen pizzas 25 of 191 products
Salami 24 of 45 products
Pizzas 21 of 371 products

Products containing sodium ascorbate (E301)

Showing the 60 most popular of 578.

How the NOVA classification works