Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kirsty's Mac & Cheeze ultra-processed?

275g Plant-based meals Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Kirsty's Mac & Cheeze

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:

  • 66 ingredients
  • 9 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed plant-based 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

Dairy Free Cheese Alternative Sauce 63%, Potato Milk (Potato, Rapeseed Oil, Pea Protein, Acidity Regulator (Diand MonoSodium Phosphate), Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithin), Natural Flavour, vitamins, vitamin D, Riboflavin, vitamin B12, Folic Acid), Cheese Alternative 13% (Water, Coconut Oil, Potato Starch, Modified Maize Starch, Yeast Extract, Salt, Natural Flavouring, Thickener (Carrageenan), Calcium Phosphate, Smoke Flavouring, Calcium Chloride, Colour (Agal Carotenes)), Water, Rice Flour, Cornflour, Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Stock (Salt, Maltodextrin, Rice Flour, Vegetables (Onion, Carrot, Parsnip), Yeast Extract, Sunflower Oil, Parsley, Turmeric), Black Pepper, Onion, Macaroni 33% (Water, Cornflour, Chickpea Flour, Emulsifier (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids)), Breadcrumb 3% (Breadcrumb (Rice Flour, Gram Flour, Maize Starch, Salt, Dextrose), Rosemary, Rapeseed Oil, Sage, Pepper)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E339 Sodium phosphates , E339i Monosodium phosphate , E407 Carrageenan , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E160a Carotene.

As written on the pack

Dairy Free Cheese Alternative Sauce 63% (Potato Milk (Potato, Rapeseed Oil, Pea Protein, Acidity Regulator (Di - and Mono-Sodium Phosphate), Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithin), Natural Flavour, Vitamins (D, Riboflavin, B12, Folic Acid)), Vegan Cheese Alternative 13% (Water, Coconut Oil, Potato Starch, Modified Maize Starch, Yeast Extract, Salt, Natural Flavouring, Thickener (Carrageenan), Calcium Phosphate, Smoke Flavouring, Calcium Chloride, Colour (Agal Carotenes)), Water, Rice Flour, Cornflour, Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Stock (Salt, Maltodextrin, Rice Flour, Vegetables (Onion, Carrot, Parsnip), Yeast Extract, Sunflower Oil, Parsley, Turmeric), Ground Black Pepper, Onion Powder), Gluten Free Macaroni 33% [(Water, Cornflour, Chickpea Flour, Emulsifier (Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids)), Gluten Free Breadcrumb 3% (Breadcrumb (Rice Flour, Gram Flour, Maize Starch, Salt, Dextrose), Rosemary, Rapeseed Oil, Sage, Pepper).

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.
  • 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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 65 plant-based meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 65th. 49% of the plant-based 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 65 plant-based meals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5060558350762, last edited 27 March 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.