Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Itsu hoisin duck bao'buns ultra-processed?

256 g Poultry meals Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Itsu hoisin duck bao'buns

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:

  • 39 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed poultry 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

Wheat flour, duck breast 17%, vegetables 14% (onion, Chinese cabbage, carrot, shallot), sugar, hoisin sauce 6% (water, sugar, soya beans, wheat flour, sesame oil, salt, garlic, ginger, tapioca starch, rice, mixed spices, corn syrup, red onion, alcohol, soya bean oil, cornflour), cornflour, soya bean oil, sesame oil, wheat, yeast, rice, soya beans, colour (plain caramel), salt, raising agents (sodium carbonates), diphosphates, orange peel

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E450 Diphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates

As written on the pack

Wheat flour, duck breast (17%), vegetables (14%) (onion, Chinese leaf cabbage, carrot, shallot), sugar, hoisin sauce (6%) (water, sugar, soya beans, wheat flour, sesame oil, salt, garlic powder, ginger, tapioca starch, rice, mixed spices, corn syrup, red onion, alcohol, soya bean oil, cornflour), cornflour, soya bean oil, sesame oil, wheat, yeast, rice, soya beans, colour: plain caramel; salt, raising agents: sodium carbonates, diphosphates; orange peel.

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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.

  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 233 poultry meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 178th. 78% of the poultry 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 233 poultry meals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5060960663870, last edited 29 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.