Is it ultra-processed?
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Is M&S creamy tomato everything bake ultra-processed?

500g Tomato sauces with basil Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of M&S creamy tomato everything bake

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:

  • 22 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed tomato sauces with basil

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

Tomatoes 25%, Whole Milk 23%, Water, Tomato Paste, Cream, Onions, Sunflower Oil, Pecorino Romano Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Modified Maize Starch, Garlic, Sea Salt, Basil, Sugar, Yeast, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), White Pepper, Bay Leaves, Nutmeg

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Tomatoes (25%), Whole Milk (23%), Water, Tomato Paste, Cream (Milk) (8%), Onions, Sunflower Oil, Pecorino Romano Cheese (Milk), Cheddar Cheese (Milk), Modified Maize Starch, Garlic, Sea Salt, Basil, Sugar, Dried Yeast Extract, Stabiliser: Xanthan Gum, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid, Ground White Pepper, Bay Leaves, Nutmeg.

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.

  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.
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.

  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 35 tomato sauces with basil

From least to most processed, this one ranks 35th. 29% of the tomato sauces with basil 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 35 tomato sauces with basil, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29347100, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.