Is it ultra-processed?
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Is ICA-kökets Spaghetti Carbonara ultra-processed?

360 g Pork meals Sold in Sweden

Pack of ICA-kökets Spaghetti Carbonara

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:

  • 59 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed pork meals

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

Pasta 50% (durumvete, vatten, rapsolja, salt, vitpeppar), carbonarasås 39%, grädde, mjölk, vatten, bacon 4.8% (sidfläsk, salt, druvsocker, antioxidationsmedel (e301, e331), rosmarinextrakt, konserveringsmedel (e250)), lök, majsstärkelse, ost 2% (mjölk, salt, mjölkkoagulerande enzym (animaliskt), lysozym från ägg), grönsaksbuljong (morot, purjolök, lök, vitlök, vitvinsextrakt, salt, solrosolja, kryddextrakt (timjan, lagerblad, kryddnejlika)), rapsolja, salt, modifierad majsstärkelse, svartpeppar, bacon 11% (sidfläsk, salt, antioxidationsmedel (e301, e331), surhetsreglerande medel (e326), konserveringsmedel (e250, e262), kryddextrakt (peppar, muskot, enbär))

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E262 Sodium acetates , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E326 Potassium lactate , E331 Sodium citrates , E392 Extracts of rosemary

As written on the pack

Pasta 50% (durumvete, vatten, rapsolja, salt, vitpeppar), carbonarasås 39% (grädde, mjölk, vatten, bacon 4,8% (sidfläsk, salt, druvsocker, antioxidationsmedel (E301, E331), rosmarinextrakt, konserveringsmedel (E250)), lök, majsstärkelse, ost 2% (mjölk, salt, mjölkkoagulerande enzym (animaliskt), lysozym från ägg), grönsaksbuljong (morot, purjolök, lök, vitlök, vitvinsextrakt, salt, solrosolja, kryddextrakt (timjan, lagerblad, kryddnejlika)), rapsolja, salt, modifierad majsstärkelse, svartpeppar), bacon 11% (sidfläsk, salt, antioxidationsmedel (E301, E331), surhetsreglerande medel (E326), konserveringsmedel (E250, E262), kryddextrakt (peppar, muskot, enbär), bokspånsrökt).

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.

  • E326 Potassium lactate Antioxidants are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by oxidation, such as fat rancidity and colour changes.
  • 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.

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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
7 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.
  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 62 pork meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 37th. 87% of the pork meals 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 62 pork meals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7318690161714, last edited 2 April 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.