Is Hearty Food Co. 4 Breaded White Fish Fillets ultra-processed?

Breaded fish 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:

Gluten
E450 Diphosphates

22 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed breaded fish

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, wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), rapeseed oil, water, wheat gluten (ultra-processing marker), wheat starch (processing marker), salt (processing marker), rice flour, yeast, raising agents (disodium diphosphate (ultra-processing marker), sodium bicarbonate), sunflower oil (processing marker), onion powder, garlic powder, yeast extract, black pepper extract

Additives: E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

alaska pollock (fish) (60%), wheat flour [wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin], rapeseed oil, water, wheat gluten, wheat starch, salt, rice flour, yeast, raising agents (disodium diphosphate, sodium bicarbonate), sunflower oil, onion powder, garlic powder, yeast extract, black pepper extract

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.

E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.

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.

Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.

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 163 breaded fish

From least to most processed, this one ranks 88th. 77% of the breaded fish 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 163 breaded fish, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057753912994, last edited 23 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.