Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Aldi Pasta Bake, Tomato & Herb ultra-processed?

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Pack of Aldi Pasta Bake, Tomato & Herb

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:

  • 29 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

tomato puree 70%, tomatoes 12%, rapeseed oil, water, modified maize starch, onion, sugar, parmigiano reggiano cheese (?), basil, egg yolk powder, salt, acidity regulator, lactic acid, onion, potassium chloride, stabiliser, xanthan gum, yeast extract, maltodextrin, salt, flavouring, garlic puree, color (paprika extract), parsley, dried oregano, flavourings, maltodextrin

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E270 Lactic acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

tomato puree from concentrate (70%), tomatoes (12%), rapeseed oil, water, modified maize starch, onion, sugar, parmigiano reggiano cheese (?) (milk), basil, pasteurised egg yolk powder, salt, acidity regulator, lactic acid, onion powder, potassium chloride, stabiliser, xanthan gum, flavoured yeast extract, maltodextrin, salt, flavouring), garlic puree, color: paprika extract, dried parsley, dried oregano, flavourings, maltodextrin

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.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600084244, last edited 2 April 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.