Is Lay's Barbecue Rib Crisps ultra-processed?

130gr. Flavoured potato crisps Sold in the United Kingdom and Lithuania

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E160c Paprika extract
E621 Monosodium glutamate
E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide

19 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed flavoured potato crisps

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

Potato, vegetable oils (processing marker) (sunflower vegetable oils, rapeseed vegetable oils), seasoning (sugar (processing marker), hydrolysed vegetable protein, salt (processing marker), spices, monosodium glutamate (ultra-processing marker), disodium 5-ribonucleotides (ultra-processing marker), carob flour, green bell pepper, onion powder, flavourings in which smoke flavouring, citric acid, paprika extract (ultra-processing marker), coffee, beef)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E330 Citric acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide

As written on the pack

Potato, vegetable oils (sunflower, rapeseed in varying proportions), seasoning [sugar, hydrolysed vegetable protein (contains soya), salt, spices, flavour enhancers (monosodium glutamate, disodium 5-ribonucleotides). carob flour, green bell pepper, toasted onion powder, flavourings in which smoke flavouring, acidity regulator (citric acid), colour (paprika extract), coffee extract, beef powder]

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.

E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide A food additive authorised for industrial food production.

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.

Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" 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 191 flavoured potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 111th. 95% of the flavoured potato crisps 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 191 flavoured potato crisps, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5900259130686, last edited 30 September 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.