Is Deluxe Smoked Haddock Melt in the Middle Fishcakes ultra-processed?

290 g Fishes 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
Emulsifier
Maltodextrin
Milk proteins
Modified starch
E100 Curcumin
and 3 more

44 ingredients
6 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed fishes

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

Haddock 24% (Haddock, Salt (processing marker), Colours (ultra-processing marker) (Curcumin (ultra-processing marker)), Annatto Norbixin (ultra-processing marker)), Potato 18%, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate (ultra-processing marker), Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Béchamel Sauce (processing marker) 9% (Water, Skimmed Milk, Palm Oil, Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Butter (processing marker), Whey Protein (ultra-processing marker), Emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (Soya Lecithins (ultra-processing marker)), Yeast Extract, Maltodextrin (ultra-processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Dried Onion, Dried Carrot, Dried Tomato, Dried Lovage, Rapeseed Oil), Haddock 7%, Water, Rapeseed Oil, White Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese 4%, Potato Flakes, Oats, Leek, Wheat Starch (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), White Pepper, Parsley, Black Pepper, Yeast

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160b Annatto , E160bii Annatto norbixin , E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E322 Lecithins

As written on the pack

24% Smoked Haddock (Haddock (Fish), Salt, Colours: Curcumin, Annatto Norbixin), 18% Potato, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), 9% Béchamel Sauce (Water, Skimmed Milk, Palm Oil, Modified Maize Starch, Salt, Butter (Milk), Whey Protein Concentrate (Milk), Emulsifier: Soya Lecithins; Yeast Extract, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Dried Onion, Dried Carrot, Dried Tomato, Dried Lovage, Rapeseed Oil), 7% Unsmoked Haddock (Fish), Water, Rapeseed Oil, 4% White Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese (Milk), Potato Flakes, Oats, Leek, Wheat Starch, Salt, White Pepper, Parsley, Black Pepper, Yeast.

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.

E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

Show 1 more

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.

Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.

5 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.

Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
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.
Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 667 fishes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 663rd. 34% of the fishes 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 667 fishes, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 20575007, last edited 10 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.