Is M&S Food Barbecue High Protein Rice Cakes ultra-processed?

Puffed rice cakes Sold in Ireland

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E160c Paprika extract

21 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed puffed rice cakes

Unsalted Rice Cakes with Sesame Seeds Lidl 2 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 1
Lightly Salted Rice Cakes Tesco 2 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Multigrain Rice Cakes Harvest Morn 6 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Bunalun Organic Snacks Dark Chocolate Rice Cakes Bunalun Organic 10 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3

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

Brown Rice 20%, Buckwheat 20%, Rapeseed Oil, Pea Protein 14%, Lentil Flour, Potato Starch (processing marker), Maize Flour, Rice Flour, Sugar (processing marker), Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Smoked Paprika, Dried Onions, Extract, Dried Tomatoes, Vinegar, Dried Garlic, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid, Sea Salt (processing marker), Smoked Maltodextrin Paprika Extract)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E330 Citric acid

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E160c Paprika extract.

As written on the pack

• Wholegrain Brown Rice (20%) Buckwheat (20%). Rapeseed Oil. Pea Protein (14%) . Lentil Flour. Potato Starch. Maize Flour. Rice Flour. Sugar. Dried Yeast Extract. Potassium Chloride. Smoked Paprika. Dried Onions. Molasses Extract. Dried Tomatoes. Dried Vinegar. Dried Garlic. Acidity Regulator Citric Acid. Sea Salt. Smoked Maltodextrin 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.

3 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 142 puffed rice cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 72nd. 63% of the puffed rice cakes 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 142 puffed rice cakes, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29383467, last edited 11 May 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.