Is Birds Eye chicken quarter pounders ultra-processed?

227g Chickens 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:

Flavouring
E450 Diphosphates

19 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed chickens

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

Chicken Breast 47%, Rapeseed Oil, Water, Puffed Rice, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Wheat Starch (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Natural Flavourings (ultra-processing marker), Maize Flour, Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate (ultra-processing marker), Sodium Bicarbonate), Yeast, Barley Malt Extract

Additives: E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Chicken Breast 47%, Rapeseed Oil, Water, Puffed Rice, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Wheat Starch, Salt, Natural Flavourings, Maize Flour, Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Yeast, Barley Malt 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.

E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.
Sandwiches Products in the category "Sandwiches" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 356 chickens

From least to most processed, this one ranks 212th. 74% of the chickens 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 356 chickens, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000116035540, last edited 9 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.