Is M&S breaded cod fillets ultra-processed?

300g Breaded fish 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:

Colour
Gluten
E160c Paprika extract

15 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score A

Less processed breaded fish

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

Cod (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Rapeseed Oil, Durum Wheat Semolina, Wheat Starch (processing marker), Wheat Gluten (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Yeast, Malted Barley Flour, Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Paprika Extract (ultra-processing marker))

Additives: E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Cod (Fish) (58%). Wheatflour contains Gluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin). Rapeseed Oil, Durum Wheat Semolina (contains Gluten), Wheat Starch (contains Gluten). Wheat Gluten, Salt, Yeast, Malted Barley Flour (contains Gluten), Colour: Paprika Extract.

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.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

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.

Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.

2 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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 163 breaded fish

From least to most processed, this one ranks 93rd. 77% of the breaded fish 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 163 breaded fish, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29119042, last edited 18 April 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.