Is John West Tuna Pasta salad ultra-processed?

220 g Tuna salads Sold in the United Kingdom, Austria and Jersey

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
E412 Guar gum

21 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score B

Less processed tuna salads

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 28% (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina, Egg White Powder), Skipjack Tuna 20%, Tomatoes 11%, Red Peppers 10%, Onions, Yellow Peppers 5%, Green Peppers 3%, Green Olives 2%, Concentrated Tomato Purée, Spirit Vinegar, Virgin Olive Oil (processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Herbs, Natural Flavourings (ultra-processing marker), Spice Extract, Spice, Guar Gum (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

Pasta (28%) (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina, Egg White Powder), Skipjack Tuna (20%), Tomatoes (11%), Red Peppers (10%), Onions, Yellow Peppers (5%), Green Peppers (3%), Green Olives (2%), Concentrated Tomato Purée, Spirit Vinegar, Virgin Olive Oil, Sugar, Salt, Herbs, Natural Flavourings, Spice Extract, Spice, Thickener: Guar Gum.

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.

E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
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.

Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
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 14 tuna salads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 7th. 71% of the tuna salads 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 14 tuna salads, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000171050656, last edited 6 July 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.