Is EVERYDAY Essentials Cooked Chicken Breast Mini Fillets ultra-processed?

170g Chicken breasts 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:

Fructose
Modified starch
E325 Sodium lactate
E451 Triphosphates

8 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed chicken breasts

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 95%, Fructose Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Rice Bran Oil (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Modified Tapioca Starch (ultra-processing marker), Sodium Lactate (ultra-processing marker), Triphosphates (ultra-processing marker), Lime Juice

Additives: E325 Sodium lactate , E451 Triphosphates

As written on the pack

CHICKEN (95%), Fructose Syrup, Rice Bran Oil, Salt, Modified Tapioca Starch, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Lactate), Stabiliser (Triphosphates), Lime Juice Powder.

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.

E325 Sodium lactate Antioxidants are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by oxidation, such as fat rancidity and colour changes.
E451 Triphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
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.

Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn 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.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 83 chicken breasts

From least to most processed, this one ranks 73rd. 65% of the chicken breasts 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 83 chicken breasts, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600561561, last edited 25 August 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.