Is Four Seasons Taco Mixed Beans in a Tomato Sauce ultra-processed?

395 g Canned red kidney beans 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:

Flavouring
Modified starch

16 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score B

Less processed canned red kidney beans

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

mixed beans 43% (Red Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Eyed Beans, Cannellini Beans, Pea Beans), tomatoes 35%, Water, red pepper 4.5%, Onion, Sugar (processing marker), Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Yeast Extract, Black Pepper, Flavouring (ultra-processing marker)

As written on the pack

MIXED BEANS (43%) (Red Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Eyed Beans, Cannellini Beans, Pea Beans), TOMATOES (35%), Water, RED PEPPER (4.5%), Onion, Sugar, Modified Maize Starch, Salt, Yeast Extract, Black Pepper, Flavouring.

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.

Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 13 canned red kidney beans

From least to most processed, this one ranks 13th. 38% of the canned red kidney beans 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 13 canned red kidney beans, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600247601, last edited 25 June 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.