Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Batchelors Chicken Noodle ultra-processed?

Instant noodle soups Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Batchelors Chicken Noodle

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:

  • 22 ingredients
  • 2 additives

Less processed instant noodle soups

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

ingredients as served (greatest first, water), ring noodles 10% (water, wheat flour, salt), chicken 5%, leek 3%, glucose syrup, potato starch, maize starch, salt, yeast extract, flavourings (contain wheat), parsley, flavour enhancers (monosodium glutamate, disodium 5'- ribonucleotides), turmeric, black pepper extract

Additives: E621 Monosodium glutamate , E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide

As written on the pack

ingredients as served (greatest first): water, ring noodles (10%) (water, wheat flour, salt), cooked chicken (5%), leek (3%), glucose syrup, potato starch, maize starch, salt, yeast extract (contains barley), flavourings (contain wheat), parsley, flavour enhancers (monosodium glutamate, disodium 5'- ribonucleotides), ground turmeric, black pepper extract.

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.

  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide A food additive authorised for industrial food production.
  • Flavour enhancer Flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate (E621) strengthen savoury taste without adding a flavour of their own.
  • 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.

  • 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.
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 37 instant noodle soups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 95% of the instant noodle soups 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 37 instant noodle soups, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000175409023, last edited 26 May 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.