Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Aldi pesto salad dressing ultra-processed?

Pestos Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Aldi pesto salad dressing

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:

  • 16 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed pestos

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, Rapeseed Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Sugar, basil 4%, Comfo PARMIGIANO REGGIANO CHEESE, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Garlic Purée, Salt, Milk Protein, Black Pepper, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Plant Extracts (Spirulina Extract), Flavouring

Additives: E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Water, Rapeseed Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Sugar, BASIL (4%), Comfo PARMIGIANO REGGIANO CHEESE (MILK) (1.5%), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Garlic Purée, Salt, Milk Protein, Black Pepper, Stabiliser Xanthan Gum; Plant Extracts (Spirulina Extract), Flavouring. ALLERGY ADVICE:

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.

  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.

  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
2 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 134 pestos

From least to most processed, this one ranks 121st. 51% of the pestos 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 134 pestos, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600558271, last edited 27 March 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.