Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Asda Lean smoked diced bacon ultra-processed?

2 x 155 g Bacon Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Asda Lean smoked diced bacon

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:

  • 9 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed bacon

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

Pork 88%, Water, Salt, Triphosphates, Dextrose, Sodium Nitrite, Potassium Nitrate, Sodium Ascorbate, Packaged in a St Standing PA SAME S 254kJ Energy ontains

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E252 Potassium nitrate , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E451 Triphosphates

As written on the pack

Pork (88%), Water, Salt, Stabiliser (Triphosphates), Dextrose, Preservatives (Sodium Nitrite, Potassium Nitrate), Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate). Packaged in a St Standing PA SAME S 254kJ Energy ontains

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.

  • E451 Triphosphates 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.

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.
3 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.

  • E250 Sodium nitrite Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • E252 Potassium nitrate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 109 bacon

From least to most processed, this one ranks 102nd. 36% of the bacon 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 109 bacon, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057172119844, last edited 11 August 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.