Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lidl Steak & Stilton Pies ultra-processed?

400g Meat pies Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Lidl Steak & Stilton Pies

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:

  • 58 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed meat pies

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

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Iron, Folic Acid, Thiamin), British Beef 25%, Water, Vegetable Fat Spread (Vegetable Oils (Palm Vegetable Oils, Rapeseed Vegetable Oils), Water, Salt, Emulsifier (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids)), Vegetable Oils (Palm Vegetable Oils, Rapeseed Vegetable Oils), Blue Stilton® Cheese 6%, Ruby Port 3%, Onion, Modified Maize Starch, Seasoning (Salt, Barley Malt Extract, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Iron, Folic Acid, Thiamin), Potato Starch, Yeast Extract, Dried Glucose Syrup, Black Pepper, Natural Flavouring, White Pepper), Tomato Paste, Worcester Sauce (Water, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Onion, Salt, Tamarind Paste, Cloves, Ginger, Garlic, Barley Malt Extract), Garlic Purée, Dried Glucose Syrup, Cornflour, Milk Proteins, Colour (Carotenes)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Iron, Folic Acid, Thiamin), 25% British Beef, Water, Vegetable Fat Spread (Vegetable Oils [Palm, Rapeseed], Water, Salt, Emulsifier: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Vegetable Oils (Palm, Rapeseed), 6% Blue Stilton® Cheese (Milk), 3% Ruby Port, Onion, Modified Maize Starch, Seasoning (Salt, Barley Malt Extract, Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Iron, Folic Acid, Thiamin], Potato Starch, Yeast Extract, Dried Glucose Syrup, Ground Black Pepper, Natural Flavouring, White Pepper Extract), Tomato Paste, Worcester Sauce (Water, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Onion, Salt, Tamarind Paste, Cloves, Ginger, Garlic, Barley Malt Extract), Garlic Purée, Dried Glucose Syrup, Cornflour, Milk Proteins, Colour: Carotenes.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
7 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 38 meat pies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 37th. 71% of the meat pies 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 38 meat pies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 20675998, 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.