Is Heinz cathedral city Beans cheesy ultra-processed?

390g Baked beans in tomato sauce 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:

Flavouring
Modified flour

12 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score B

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 51%, Tomatoes RI 24%, Cheese (processing marker) 8%, Sugar (processing marker), Spirit Vinegar, Modified Cornflour (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), % Cornflour, Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), % Spice Extract, Spice, % how to store % Empty unused contents into C 3%

As written on the pack

Beans (51%), Tomatoes RI (24%), Cheese (8%, Milk), Sugar, Spirit Vinegar, Modified Cornflour, Salt, % Cornflour, Flavouring (Milk), % Spice Extract, Spice. 3% % how to store % Empty unused contents into C

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.

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.

Modified flour An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.

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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 114 baked beans in tomato sauce

From least to most processed, this one ranks 43rd. 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 5000157154491, last edited 4 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.