Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lean Cuisine Signature Steak Portabella ultra-processed?

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Pack of Lean Cuisine Signature Steak Portabella

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:

  • 43 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

broccoli, cooked beef steak, water, binder product, caramel color added, beef water, modified cornstarch, salt, beef broth, sodium phosphate, dextrose, caramel color, natural flavor, water, mushrooms, onions, and less of modified food starch 2%, butter, cream, salt, tomato paste, gum acacia, soy sauce, flavor, soybeans, wheat, salt, mushroom, garlic, carrots, celery, caramel color, onion, beef broth, flavors, maltodextrin, spice, sherry wine, enzyme modified cream, lactic acid, disodium phosphate, grill flavor from vegetable oil, smoke flavor

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E270 Lactic acid , E339ii Disodium phosphate , E414 Acacia gum

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

broccoli, cooked beef steak, water and binder product, caramel color added, beef water, modified cornstarch, salt, beef broth, sodium phosphate, dextrose, caramel color, natural flavor, water, mushrooms, onions, 2% or less of modified food starch, butter, cream, salt, tomato paste, gum acacia, soy sauce, flavor, soybeans, wheat, salt, mushroom juice concentrate, garlic, carrots, celery, caramel color, onion powder, dried beef broth, flavors, maltodextrin, spice, sherry wine, enzyme modified cream, lactic acid, disodium phosphate, grill flavor from vegetable oil, smoke flavor

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.

  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0013800156501, last edited 24 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.