Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Heinz Pea And Ham Soup ultra-processed?

400g Soups Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Heinz Pea And Ham Soup

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:

  • 30 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed soups

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, Green Peas 25%, Peas 6%, Onions 4%, Carrots, Reformed Ham 3% (Pork 2.16%, Water, Potato Starch, Salt, Dextrose, Stabiliser, Tri, Diphosphates), celery, Modified Cornflour, Cornflour, Salt, Rapeseed Oil, Flavouring, Sugar, Cream, Skimmed MILK, Smoke Flavouring, Stabilisers, Polyphosphates, Sodium Phosphates, Black Pepper, Colour, Beta Carotene

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E339 Sodium phosphates , E450 Diphosphates , E452 Polyphosphates

As written on the pack

Water, Split Green Peas (25%), Peas (6%), Onions (4%), Carrots, Reformed Ham (3%, Pork (72%), Water, Potato Starch, Salt, Dextrose, Stabiliser - Tri & Diphosphates), CELERY, Modified Cornflour, Cornflour, Salt, Rapeseed Oil, Flavouring (contains WHEAT, BARLEY), Sugar, Cream (MILK), Dried Skimmed MILK Powder, Smoke Flavouring (contains WHEAT), Stabilisers - Polyphosphates and Sodium Phosphates, Black Pepper, Colour - Beta Carotene

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E452 Polyphosphates 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.
4 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.
  • 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 722 soups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 680th. 63% of the soups 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 722 soups, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000157066817, last edited 5 June 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.