Is Asda Mediterranean Style Tomato Cous Cous ultra-processed?

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Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
Flavouring
Maltodextrin
E160c Paprika extract

17 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score A

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

cous cous 85% (durum Wheat Semolina), tomato 5%, dried tomatoes 2%, flavourings (ultra-processing marker), palm oil, dried onion, sugar (processing marker), black olives, salt (processing marker), herbs, dried garlic, maltodextrin (ultra-processing marker), black pepper, colour (ultra-processing marker) (paprika extract (ultra-processing marker)), citric acid

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Dried cous cous (85%), [durum Wheat Semolina], tomato powder (5%), dried tomatoes (2%), flavourings,palm oil, dried onion, sugar, dried black olives, salt, herbs, dried garlic, maltodextrin,black pepper, colour (paprika extract), citric acid

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.
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.

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.

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

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054781875475, 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.