Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Heinz Beanz & Vegan Sausages ultra-processed?

415g Baked beans in tomato sauce Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Heinz Beanz & Vegan Sausages

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:

  • 31 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed baked beans in tomato sauce

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

Beans 38%, Tomatoes 31%, Plant Based Sausages 15% (Water, Wheat Protein, Rapeseed Oil, Potato Starch, Wheat Starch, Stabiliser-Methylcellulose, Citrus Fibre, Tapioca Starch, Natural Flavourings, Yeast Extract, Salt, Herbs (Sage), Spices (Black Pepper, White Pepper), Dextrose, Colour, Beetroot Red, Flavourings, Spice Extract), Water, Sugar, Salt, Modified Cornflour, Spirit Vinegar, Spice Extracts, Herb Extract

Additives: E162 Beetroot red , E461 Methyl cellulose

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E461 Methyl cellulose.

As written on the pack

Beans (38%), Tomatoes (31%), Plant Based Sausages (15%) (Water, Wheat Protein, Rapeseed Oil, Potato Starch, Wheat Starch, Stabiliser-Methylcellulose, Citrus Fibre, Tapioca Starch, Natural Flavourings, Yeast Extract, Salt, Herbs (Sage), Spices (Black Pepper, White Pepper), Dextrose, Colour - Beetroot Red, Flavourings, Spice Extract), Water, Sugar, Salt, Modified Cornflour, Spirit Vinegar, Spice Extracts, Herb 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.

  • E162 Beetroot red Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E461 Methyl cellulose 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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • Modified flour An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
  • 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.
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 114 baked beans in tomato sauce

From least to most processed, this one ranks 114th. 82% of the baked beans in tomato sauce 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 114 baked beans in tomato sauce, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000157147592, last edited 27 March 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.