Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Chef Select Italian Style Penne all' Arrabbiata ultra-processed?

350 g Microwave meals Sold in Sweden and Switzerland

Pack of Chef Select Italian Style Penne all' Arrabbiata

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:

  • 43 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed microwave meals

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

Kokt pasta 57% (vatten, durumvete, rapsolja, salt (salt, jod)), tomatsås 43%, finkrossade tomater 26% (tomat, syra (citronsyra)), vatten, koncentrerad tomatpuré 4%, röd paprika, rapsolja, svarta oliver 0.8% (oliver, vatten, salt, stabiliseringsmedel (järnglukonat)), torkad lök, salt (salt, jod), socker, ättiksprit, kryddor, salt, smaksättare (salt, maltodextrin, lök, jästextrakt, rapsolja, kryddor, socker, kryddextrakt), basilika, vitlök, svartpeppar, röd chili

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E579 Iron gluconate

As written on the pack

Kokt pasta 57 % (vatten, durumvete, rapsolja, salt (salt, jod)), tomatsås 43 % (finkrossade tomater 26 % (tomat, syra (citronsyra)), vatten, koncentrerad tomatpuré 4 %, röd paprika, rapsolja, svarta oliver 0,8 % (oliver, vatten, salt, stabiliseringsmedel (järnglukonat)), torkad lök, salt (salt, jod), socker, ättiksprit, kryddor, salt, smaksättare (salt, maltodextrin, lök, jästextrakt, rapsolja, kryddor, socker, kryddextrakt), basilika, vitlök, svartpeppar, röd chili).

What makes it ultra-processed

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.
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.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 351 microwave meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 140th. 72% of the microwave meals 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 351 microwave meals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 20416089, last edited 22 February 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.