Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Branston Smooth pickle ultra-processed?

Pickles Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Branston Smooth pickle

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:

  • 25 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed pickles

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

Vegetables in Variable Proportions 37% (Carrot, Rutabaga, Onion, Cauliflower), Sugar, Barley Malt Vinegar, Water, Spirit Vinegar, Modified Maize Starch, Tomato Purée, Date Paste (Dates, Rice Flour), Apple Pulp, Salt, Colour (sulphite ammonia caramel), onion, concentrated lemon juice, spices, colouring food (barley malt), herb, spice extracts

Additives: E150d Sulphite ammonia caramel

As written on the pack

Vegetables in Variable Proportions (37%) (Carrot, Rutabaga, Onion, Cauliflower), Sugar, Barley Malt Vinegar, Water, Spirit Vinegar, Modified Maize Starch, Tomato Purée, Date Paste (Dates, Rice Flour), Apple Pulp, Salt, Colour (sulphite ammonia caramel), onion powder, concentrated lemon juice, spices, colouring food (roasted barley malt extract), herb and spice extracts

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.

  • E150d Sulphite ammonia caramel Sulphite ammonia caramel is the dark brown colour in colas and many sauces, made by heating sugars with sulphite and ammonia compounds.
  • 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.
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 312 pickles

From least to most processed, this one ranks 285th. 33% of the pickles 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 312 pickles, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5060336507166, last edited 27 March 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.