Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Asda British turkey meatballs ultra-processed?

400 g Meats Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Asda British turkey meatballs

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
  • 3 additives

Less processed meats

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

Turkey 87%, Water, Rice Flour, Gram Flour, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Spices, Salt, Maize Starch, Diphosphates, Herbs, Sodium Metabisulphite, Ascorbic Acid, Lemon Oil, Dextrose, Allergy Advice!

Additives: E223 Sodium metabisulphite , E300 Ascorbic acid , E450 Diphosphates

As written on the pack

Turkey (87%), Water, Rice Flour, Gram Flour, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Spices, Salt, Maize Starch (contains Sulphites), Emulsifier (Diphosphates), Herbs, Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Lemon Oil, Dextrose (contains Sulphites). 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.

  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,200 meats

From least to most processed, this one ranks 916th. 64% of the meats 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 1,200 meats, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5052449451573, last edited 5 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.