Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Baxters Lentil & bacon soup ultra-processed?

Vegetable soups Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Baxters Lentil & bacon soup

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:

  • 20 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed vegetable 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

water, red lentils 16%, carrots, potatoes, smoked bacon 4.5% (pork, water, salt, preservatives (sodium nitrite, potassium nitrate), antioxidant (sodium ascorbate)), tomatoes, onions, flavouring, cornflour, modified maize starch, parsley, white pepper

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

As written on the pack

water. red split lentils (16%), carrots, potatoes, smoked bacon (4.5%), [pork, water, salt, preservatives (sodium nitrite, potassium nitrate), antioxidant (sodium ascorbate)], tomatoes, onions, flavouring, cornflour, modified maize starch, parsley, white pepper

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.

  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.
6 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.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 226 vegetable soups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 179th. 52% of the vegetable 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 226 vegetable soups, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5012427143906, last edited 3 July 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.