Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Food Box Red Hot Chicken ultra-processed?

370 g Meals with chicken Sold in Sweden

Pack of Food Box Red Hot Chicken

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:

  • 39 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed meals with chicken

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

Brown rice, chicken 18%, coconut milk (maltodextrin, milk protein), pepper, carrot, soybeans, mini corn, fish sauce (water, anchovies (sprattus sprattus), salt, sugar), tomato puree, ginger, rapeseed oil, chicken stock (water, chicken, salt), rice starch, lemon grass, coriander, white wine vinegar, potato, corn starch, garlic, chili, bamboo, citrus fiber, rice flour, salt, Thai basil, galangal, lemon juice, coloring (beta-carotene)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene

As written on the pack

Brown rice, chicken* (18%), coconut milk (maltodextrin, MILK PROTEIN), grilled pepper, carrot, SOYBEANS, mini corn, FISH SAUCE (water, ANCHOVIES (sprattus sprattus), salt, sugar), tomato puree, ginger, rapeseed oil, chicken stock (water, chicken, salt), rice starch, lemon grass, coriander, white wine vinegar, potato and corn starch, garlic, chili, bamboo and citrus fiber, rice flour, salt, Thai basil, galangal, lemon juice, coloring (beta-carotene). * Origin: EU

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.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

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.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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.

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

How the NOVA groups work

Among 213 meals with chicken

From least to most processed, this one ranks 185th. 79% of the meals with chicken 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 213 meals with chicken, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7310960017653, last edited 2 April 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.