Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Heinz Light Mayo ultra-processed?

Light mayonnaises Sold in the United Kingdom and Spain

Pack of Heinz Light Mayo

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:

  • 16 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed light mayonnaises

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

Water, Rapeseed Oil 25%, Spirit Vinegar, Pasteurized Egg Yolk 5%, Modified Corn Starch, Sugar, Salt, Mustard Seeds, Thickeners (Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Antioxidant (Calcium Disodium EDTA), Spice

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E385 Calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Water, Rapeseed Oil 25%, Spirit Vinegar, Pasteurized Egg Yolk* 5%, Modified Corn Starch, Sugar, Salt, Mustard Seeds, Thickeners (Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Antioxidant (Calcium Disodium EDTA), Spice.

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.

  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.
  • 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.
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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 23 light mayonnaises

From least to most processed, this one ranks 11th. 91% of the light mayonnaises 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 23 light mayonnaises, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000157079619, last edited 10 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.