Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Gorton's Crispy Battered Fish Fillets ultra-processed?

323 g Frozen seafood Sold in the United States

Pack of Gorton's Crispy Battered Fish Fillets

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
  • 12 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed frozen seafood

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

alaska pollock, water, vegetable oil (cottonseed, canola), rice flour, enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), tapioca dextrin, less than 2% of (yellow corn flour), modified corn starch, sugar, salt, onion powder, baking powder (baking soda, sodium aluminium phosphate), dextrose, corn syrup solids, whey, wheat flour, xanthan gum, sunflower lecithin, yeast, spice, natural flavor, citric acid, paprika extract (color), sodium tripolyphosphate (to retain fish moisture), tbhq (to protect flavor)

Additives: E1400 Dextrin , E160c Paprika extract , E319 Tertiary-butylhydroquinone (tbhq) , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum , E452 Polyphosphates , E452vi Sodium tripolyphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E541 Sodium aluminium phosphate

As written on the pack

ALASKA POLLOCK, WATER, VEGETABLE OIL (COTTONSEED AND/OR CANOLA), RICE FLOUR, ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), TAPIOCA DEXTRIN, LESS THAN 2% OF: YELLOW CORN FLOUR, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SUGAR, SALT, ONION POWDER, BAKING POWDER (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ALUMINIUM PHOSPHATE), DEXTROSE, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, WHEY, WHEAT FLOUR, XANTHAN GUM, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN, YEAST, SPICE, NATURAL FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, PAPRIKA EXTRACT (COLOR), SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE (TO RETAIN FISH MOISTURE), TBHQ (TO PROTECT FLAVOR).

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.

  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E452 Polyphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Show 2 more
  • 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.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 90 frozen seafood

From least to most processed, this one ranks 90th. 79% of the frozen seafood 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 90 frozen seafood, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0044400157704, last edited 1 September 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.