Is Four Seasons Gourmet Foods French fries ultra-processed?

1 kg Frozen French fries to roast Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Modified starch
E415 Xanthan gum

9 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score C

Less processed frozen French fries to roast

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 91%, sunflower oil (processing marker) 6%, wheat flour, rice flour, corn starch (processing marker), modified tapioca starch (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), spice extracts, xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

potato (91%), sunflower oil (6%), wheat flour, rice flour, corn starch, modified tapioca starch, salt, spice extracts, stabiliser: xanthan gum,

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.

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 9 frozen French fries to roast

From least to most processed, this one ranks 6th. 67% of the frozen French fries to roast 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 9 frozen French fries to roast, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600101217, last edited 18 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.