Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Ainsley Roasted Vegetable Couscous ultra-processed?

100 g Durum wheat semolinas for couscous Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Ainsley Roasted Vegetable Couscous

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 26 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed durum wheat semolinas for couscous

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Couscous 88% (Durum WHEAT Semolina), Dried Vegetables 2.8% (Tomato, Red Onion, Red Pepper, Green Pepper), Maltodextrin, Sugar, Tomato Powder, Palm Oil, Salt, Natural Flavourings (contain BARLEY), Onion Powder, Garlic Powder 0.4%, Red and Yellow Pepper 0.4%, Herbs (Thyme, Marjoram, Parsley, Oregano, Sage, Basil), Paprika Extract, Curcumin

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Dried Couscous 88% (Durum WHEAT Semolina), Dried Vegetables 2.8% (Tomato, Red Onion, Red Pepper, Green Pepper), Maltodextrin, Sugar, Tomato Powder, Palm Oil, Salt, Natural Flavourings (contain BARLEY), Onion Powder, Garlic Powder 0.4%, Grilled Red & Yellow Pepper 0.4%, Dried Herbs (Thyme, Marjoram, Parsley, Oregano, Sage, Basil), Colours (Paprika Extract, Curcumin)

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
3 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 25 durum wheat semolinas for couscous

From least to most processed, this one ranks 24th. 36% of the durum wheat semolinas for couscous here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 25 durum wheat semolinas for couscous, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5050665015845, last edited 16 September 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.