Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Hormel Foods SPAM 25% Less Sodium ultra-processed?

340g Canned meats Sold in Australia

Pack of Hormel Foods SPAM 25% Less Sodium

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:

  • 15 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed canned 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

Pork 91%, Water, Salt, Thickener (1442), Sugar, Mineral (Salt (508)), Preservatives (250), Colour (160b), Humectant (1520)

Additives: E1442 Hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate , E1520 Propylene Glycol , E160b Annatto , E508 Potassium chloride

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E1442 Hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate, E160b Annatto.

As written on the pack

Pork 91%, Water, Salt, Thickener (1442), Sugar, Mineral Salt(508), Preservatives (250).Colour (160b), Humectant (1520).

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.

  • E1442 Hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate Hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate is a chemically modified starch used to thicken and stabilise desserts, sauces and soups.
  • E160b Annatto 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.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.
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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 39 canned meats

From least to most processed, this one ranks 39th. 56% of the canned 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 39 canned meats, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0037600415743, last edited 3 December 2025), 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.