Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Asia Box Chicken Pad Thai ultra-processed?

320 g Meals with chicken Sold in Sweden

Pack of Asia Box Chicken Pad Thai

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:

  • 40 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed meals with chicken

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

risnudlar 31.31313131313131% (vatten, rismjöl, riskliolja), pad thai-sås 30.303030303030305% (vatten, socker, röd lök, tamarind, sojasås (sojabönor, vete), rättika (rättika, salt, socker), riskliolja, vitlök, salt, glukossirap, vinäger, av kokos, maltodextrin, röd chili, färgämne (paprikaextrakt, e150a), konserveringsmedel (e202)), grönsaker 20.2020202020202% (kål, morot, sockerärt, kinesisk gräslök), kycklingkött 18.181818181818183% (varav 95% kyckling, majsstärkelse, riskliolja, salt, socker)

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E160c Paprika extract , E202 Potassium sorbate

As written on the pack

Kokta risnudlar 31% (vatten, rismjöl, riskliolja), pad thai-sås 30% (vatten, socker, röd lök, tamarind, sojasås (sojabönor, vete), sötad rättika (rättika, salt, socker), riskliolja, vitlök, salt, glukossirap, vinäger, koncentrat av kokossirap, maltodextrin, röd chili, färgämne (paprikaextrakt, E150a), konserveringsmedel (E202)), grönsaker 20% (kål, morot, sockerärt, kinesisk gräslök), kokt kycklingkött 18% (varav 95% kyckling, majsstärkelse, riskliolja, salt, socker).

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • 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.

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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
8 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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate 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.
  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 213 meals with chicken

From least to most processed, this one ranks 199th. 79% of the meals with chicken 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 213 meals with chicken, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7340083467738, last edited 2 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.