Is Ben's Original Plant Powered Chilli Non Carne ultra-processed?

285g Chili con carne Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
Flavouring
E160c Paprika extract

23 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score A

Less processed chili con carne

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

Beans 29% (red kidney, haricot, black), tomatoes 18%, onion, red pepper 10%, sweetcorn 10%, garlic, tomato paste 3.8%, sunflower oil (processing marker), lemon juice, sugar (processing marker), yeast extract, salt (processing marker), herbs, spices, natural flavouring (ultra-processing marker), green chilli, red chilli, colour (ultra-processing marker) (paprika oleoresin (ultra-processing marker)), smoke flavouring (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Beans 29% (red kidney, haricot, black), tomatoes 18%, onion, red pepper 10%, sweetcorn 10%, garlic, double concentrated tomato paste 3.8%, sunflower oil, lemon juice, sugar, yeast extract, salt, herbs, spices, natural flavouring, green chilli, red chilli, colour (paprika oleoresin), smoke flavouring.

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.

4 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.

Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 16 chili con carne

From least to most processed, this one ranks 16th. 69% of the chili con carne 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 16 chili con carne, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010034013582, last edited 3 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.
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.