Is Hillshire Farm Pastrami ultra-processed?

7 oz Prepared meats Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring

11 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed prepared meats

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

Beef, water, contains 2% and less (salt (processing marker)), cracked black pepper, sodium phosphate, sugar (processing marker), sodium propionate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite (processing marker), natural flavor (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E281 Sodium propionate , E316 Sodium erythorbate

As written on the pack

Beef, water, contains 2% or less: salt, cracked black pepper, sodium phosphate, sugar, sodium propionate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, natural flavor.

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.

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.

E250 Sodium nitrite 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.
Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 882 prepared meats

From least to most processed, this one ranks 359th. 73% of the prepared meats 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 882 prepared meats, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0044500984705, last edited 31 May 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.