Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney Pie ultra-processed?

425 g Meat pies Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney Pie

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:

  • 37 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed meat pies

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

Water, Puff Pastry 27%, Wheat Flour (with Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Margarine (Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Water, Salt, mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Water, Salt, Beef 10%, Pork Kidney 8%, Modified Maize Starch, Wheat Flour (with Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Salt, Onion Powder, Barley Malt Extract, Tomato Paste, Yeast Extract, Flavouring, Beef Extract, Chicory Extract, Xanthan Gum, White Pepper, Sugar, Plain Caramel, Tomato Powder, Garlic Powder

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E415 Xanthan gum , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Water, Puff Pastry (27%) (Wheat Flour (with Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Margarine (Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Water, Salt, Emulsifier (Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids)), Water, Salt), Beef (10%), Pork Kidney (8%), Modified Maize Starch, Wheat Flour (with Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Salt, Onion Powder, Barley Malt Extract, Tomato Paste, Yeast Extract, Flavouring, Beef Extract, Chicory Extract, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Ground White Pepper, Sugar, Colour (Plain Caramel), Tomato Powder, Garlic 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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • 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.
4 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 38 meat pies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 32nd. 71% of the meat pies 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 38 meat pies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5012427049802, last edited 29 July 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.