Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Bell Baked beans in rich tomato sauce ultra-processed?

420 g Baked beans in tomato sauce Sold in Ireland

Pack of Bell Baked beans in rich tomato sauce

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:

  • 28 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed baked beans in tomato sauce

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 52% haricot beans, tomato purée 33%, water, sugar, modified maize starch, salt, onion, maltodextrin, paprika, rapeseed oil, clove, colour (paprika extract), bell pepper, cinnamon, natural chilli flavouring, garlic oil, antioxidant (ascorbic acid), acidity regulator (citric acid), baked beans in tomato sauce cooking instructi appliances may vary microwave (place ce vent), microwave on heating time, allow instructions are bas wattage ovens, heat hob (empty content 4 minutes), stirring ensure food is pipir nutrition nutrition information per 100g* туріcal values per half can %ri* 210g* 807kj

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E300 Ascorbic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

ingredients 52% haricot beans, 33% tomato purée, water, sugar, modified maize starch, salt, onion powder, maltodextrin, ground paprika, rapeseed oil, clove extract, colour: paprika extract, bell pepper extract, cinnamon extract, natural chilli flavouring, garlic oil, antioxidant: ascorbic acid, acidity regulator: citric acid, baked beans in tomato sauce cooking instructi appliances may vary microwave: place ce vent, microwave on heating time, allow instructions are bas wattage ovens, heat hob: empty content 4 minutes, stirring ensure food is pipir nutrition nutrition information per 100g** туріcal values per half can %ri* 210g** 807kj/

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.
  • 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.

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.
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.

  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 114 baked beans in tomato sauce

From least to most processed, this one ranks 98th. 82% of the baked beans in tomato sauce 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 114 baked beans in tomato sauce, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 20941857, 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 A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.