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Is Healthy Choice Grilled Chicken Pesto & Vegetables ultra-processed?

Frozen ready-made meals Sold in the United States

Pack of Healthy Choice Grilled Chicken Pesto & Vegetables

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:

  • 38 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed frozen ready-made meals

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

Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, peas), chicken (chicken breast, water, sugar, sea salt, olive oil, isolated soy protein, soy fiber, rice starch, natural flavoring), basil pesto sauce (water, parmesan cheese (milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), romano cheese from cow's milk (part skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), corn starch, cream, contains 2% and less of (whey protein), basil, potassium chloride, sea salt, natural flavorings, butter (cream, salt), locust bean gum)

Additives: E410 Locust bean gum

As written on the pack

Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, peas). seasoned cooked chicken (chicken breast, water, sugar, sea salt, olive oil, isolated soy protein, soy fiber, rice starch, natural flavoring). basil pesto sauce (water, parmesan cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], romano cheese from cow's milk [part skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], corn starch, cream, contains 2% or less of: whey protein concentrate, basil, potassium chloride, sea salt, natural flavorings, butter [cream, salt], locust bean gum). contains: milk, soy.

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.

  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
7 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.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 84 frozen ready-made meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 61st. 69% of the frozen ready-made meals 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 84 frozen ready-made meals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0072655001275, last edited 17 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 A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.