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Is Aldi Specially Selected Melt in the middle smoked haddock fishcakes ultra-processed?

290g Fishes and their products Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Aldi Specially Selected Melt in the middle smoked haddock fishcakes

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:

  • 54 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed fishes and their products

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

dyed smoked haddock 24% (Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), Salt, Colours (Curcumin), Paprika Extract), Potato, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), Rapeseed Oil, Double Cream, Cheddar Cheese, Whole Milk, Chives, Potato Flake, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cornflour, Maize Starch, Salt, Yeast, Apple Cider Vinegar, Dijon Mustard (Water, Mustard Seeds, Spirit Vinegar, Salt), Paprika, Sugar, Wheat Gluten, Fish Stock (Fish Stock, Salt, Maltodextrin, Yeast Extract, Onion, Celeriac, Rapeseed Oil, Leek, Carrot Powder, White Pepper, Bay), Concentrated Lemon Juice, Garlic Purée, Onion, Black Pepper, White Pepper

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract , E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate

As written on the pack

DYED SMOKED HADDOCK (24%) (Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) (FISH), Salt, Colours: Curcumin, Paprika Extract), Potato, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, HADDOCK (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) (FISH) (7%), Rapeseed Oil, Double Cream (Milk), Cheddar Cheese (Milk), Whole Milk, Chives, Potato Flake, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cornflour, Maize Starch, Salt, Yeast, Apple Cider Vinegar, Dijon Mustard (Water, Ground Mustard Seeds, Spirit Vinegar, Salt), Paprika, Sugar, Wheat Gluten, Fish Stock (Fish Stock, Salt, Maltodextrin, Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, Celeriac (Celery), Rapeseed Oil, Leek Powder, Carrot Powder, White Pepper, Bay), Concentrated Lemon Juice, Garlic Purée, Onion Powder, Black Pepper, Ground White Pepper.

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.
  • E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

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.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
5 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 744 fishes and their products

From least to most processed, this one ranks 719th. 39% of the fishes and their products 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 744 fishes and their products, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600023540, last edited 28 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.