Is Lidl Chili con carne ultra-processed?

Chili con carne Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Modified starch

22 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed chili con carne

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

Minced beef, kidney beans, mixed peppers in a spicy tomato sauce, Ingredients 27% Beef, Tomatoes, Kidney Beans 14%, Water, Chopped Tomatoes, Concentrated Tomato Purée, Red Pepper 2.5%, Green Pepper 2.5%, Dried Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Cumin, Salt (processing marker), Paprika, Sugar (processing marker), Dried Garlic, Barley Malt Vinegar, Chilli, Oregano

As written on the pack

Minced beef, kidney beans and mixed peppers in a spicy tomato sauce. Ingredients 27% Beef, Tomatoes, 14% Kidney Beans, Water, Chopped Tomatoes, Concentrated Tomato Purée, 2.5% Red Pepper, 2.5% Green Pepper, Dried Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Modified Maize Starch, Ground Cumin, Salt, Ground Paprika, Sugar, Dried Garlic, Barley Malt Vinegar, Dried Chilli, Ground Oregano.

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.

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.

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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 16 chili con carne

From least to most processed, this one ranks 7th. 69% of the chili con carne 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 16 chili con carne, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4056489175537, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.