Is it ultra-processed?
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Is By Sainsbury's Macaroni Cheese ultra-processed?

Instant pasta with cheese Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of By Sainsbury's Macaroni Cheese

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:

  • 42 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed instant pasta with cheese

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

Macaroni 43% (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Water, Medium Fat Soft Cheese (Cows' Milk), Rapeseed Oil, Modified Maize Starch, Sugar, Skimmed Cows' Milk Powder, Cheese Powder (Cows' Milk), Mustard, Maize Starch, Stabiliser (Sodium Phosphate), Salt, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Yeast Extract, Whey Powder (Cows' Milk), Colour (Beta-carotene, antil power not reheat tents to a), unsaturates 07845882 P0175 03.22 < 0027 2391 ! Allergy advice, including cereals containing gluten, LABEL Recycle RINSE CAŃ Recycle We're sure you'll love this product, If you don't, simply return for a full refund, Or, call our careline 0800 636262, Your statutory rights are not affected, Packed in the UK for Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd London, EC1N 2HT and Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd Upper Galwally, Belfast, bt8 6fx, www.sainsburys.co.uk

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E339 Sodium phosphates

As written on the pack

Cooked Macaroni (43%) (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Water, Medium Fat Soft Cheese (Cows' Milk), Rapeseed Oil, Modified Maize Starch, Sugar, Skimmed Cows' Milk Powder, Cheese Powder (Cows' Milk), Mustard Flour, Maize Starch, Stabiliser: Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Yeast Extract, Whey Powder (Cows' Milk), Colour: Beta-carotene. antil power not reheat tents to a - unsaturates 07845882 P0175 03.22 &lt; 0027 2391 ! Allergy advice: For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. LABEL Recycle RINSE CAŃ Recycle We're sure you'll love this product. If you don't, simply return for a full refund. Or, call our careline 0800 636262. Your statutory rights are not affected. Packed in the UK for Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd London, EC1N 2HT and Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd Upper Galwally, Belfast, BT8 6FX. www.sainsburys.co.uk

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
  • 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.

  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 9 instant pasta with cheese

From least to most processed, this one ranks 7th. 78% of the instant pasta with cheese 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 9 instant pasta with cheese, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00272391, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.