Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Four Seasons French Fries ultra-processed?

Frozen potato fries Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Four Seasons French Fries

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:

  • 10 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed frozen potato fries

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

potato 89%, Sunflower Oil, Modified Potato Starch, Rice Flour, Salt, Dex Maltodextrin, Curcumin, Paprika Extract, Diphos Sodium Carbonates, Xanthan Gum

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract , E415 Xanthan gum , E500 Sodium carbonates

As written on the pack

POTATO (89%), Sunflower Oil, Modified Potato Starch, Rice Flour, Salt, Dex Maltodextrin, Colours: Curcumin, Paprika Extract; Raising Agents: Diphos Sodium Carbonates; Thickener: Xanthan Gum. DIETARY ADVICE: Suitable for vegans.

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.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.
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 32 frozen potato fries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 22nd. 81% of the frozen potato fries 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 32 frozen potato fries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4061462532405, last edited 6 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.