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Is Aldi BBQ No Chicken Smash Burgers ultra-processed?

227 g Vegetarian patties Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Pack of Aldi BBQ No Chicken Smash Burgers

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:

  • 68 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed vegetarian patties

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

Water, soya protein 9%, soya protein isolate 7%, Rapeseed Oil, Spring Onions, Chicory Root Fibre, Wheat Gluten, Thickener, Methyl Cellulose, Bamboo Fibre, Wheat Starch, Flavouring, Coriander, Red Jalapeño Pepper, Brown Sugar (Sugar, Cane Molasses), Salt, Garlic, Yeast Extract, Smoked Paprika, Black Pepper, Onion, Smoked Salt, Mushrooms, Tomato Paste, Cayenne Pepper, Mushroom Paste (Water, Mushroom, Yeast Extract, Salt, Mushrooms, Sugar, Flavouring, Cornflour), Ground Ginger, Garlic Purée, Tomato Paste (Water, Sunflower Oil, Sundried Tomatoes, White Wine Vinegar, Garlic Powder, Salt, Black Pepper, Dried Basil, Dried Rosemary), Vegetable Stock Paste (Water, Salt, Yeast Extract, Carrot Juice, Onions, Onion, Carrot, Leeks, Sugar, Potato Flake, Leek, Mushroom, Cornflour, Dried Thyme, White Pepper, Bay Leaves), Cornflour, Thyme, Porcini Mushroom

Additives: E461 Methyl cellulose

As written on the pack

Water, SOYA PROTEIN (9%), SOYA PROTEIN ISOLATE (7%), Rapeseed Oil, Spring Onions, Chicory Root Fibre, Wheat Gluten, Thickener. Methyl Cellulose; Bamboo Fibre, Wheat Starch, Flavouring, Coriander, Red Jalapeño Pepper, Brown Sugar (Sugar, Cane Molasses), Salt, Garlic Granules, Yeast Extract, Smoked Paprika, Ground Black Pepper, Onion, Smoked Salt, Roasted Mushrooms, Tomato Paste, Ground Cayenne Pepper, Mushroom Paste [Water, Mushroom Concentrate, Yeast Extract, Salt, Dried Mushrooms, Sugar, Flavouring, Cornflour]), Ground Ginger, Garlic Purée, Sundried Tomato Paste (Water, Sunflower Oil, Sundried Tomatoes, White Wine Vinegar, Garlic Powder, Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Dried Basil, Dried Rosemary), Vegetable Stock Paste (Water, Salt, Yeast Extract, Carrot Juice Concentrate, Onions, Onion Concentrate, Carrot, Leeks, Sugar, Potato Flake, Leek Juice Concentrate, Mushroom Concentrate, Cornflour, Dried Thyme, Ground White Pepper, Ground Bay Leaves), Cornflour, Thyme, Porcini Mushroom Powder.

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.

  • E461 Methyl cellulose Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
4 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 59 vegetarian patties

From least to most processed, this one ranks 41st. 78% of the vegetarian patties 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 59 vegetarian patties, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4061463004253, last edited 12 July 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 A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.