Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lidl Birchwood Thick Pork Saussages ultra-processed?

410 g Pork sausages Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Lidl Birchwood Thick Pork Saussages

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:

  • 29 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed pork sausages

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

Pork 42%, Water, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Pork Fat, Salt, Flavouring, Stabilisers (Diphosphates, Guar Gum), Raising Agent (Ammonium Carbonates), Wheat Starch, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite), Fruit and Vegetable Concentrates (Beetroot, Acerola, Lemon Hibiscus Sabdariffa, Black Carrot), Rapeseed Oil, Dextrose, Collagen Casings

Additives: E223 Sodium metabisulphite , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E412 Guar gum , E450 Diphosphates

As written on the pack

Pork from Britain (42%), Water, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Pork Fat, Salt, Flavouring, Stabilisers (Diphosphates, Guar Gum), Raising Agent (Ammonium Carbonates) Wheat Starch, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite), Fruit and Vegetable Concentrates (Beetroot, Acerola, Lemon Hibiscus Sabdariffa, Black Carrot), Rapeseed Oil, Dextrose, Collagen Casings

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.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.
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.

  • Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
  • Sausages Products in the category "Sausages" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 55 pork sausages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 43rd. 89% of the pork sausages 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 55 pork sausages, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4056489555889, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.