Is M&S Food Olives, Feta & Pink Peppercorn Chickpea & Red Quinoa Tortillas ultra-processed?

Flavoured corn crisps Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
Lactose

22 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed flavoured corn crisps

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

Maize Flour, Vegetable Oil (processing marker) (Sunflower Vegetable Oil, Rapeseed Vegetable Oil), Chickpea Flour, Red Quinoa, Lactose (ultra-processing marker), Green Olives, Sugar (processing marker), Yeast, Regulator (Citric Acid), Lactic Acid, Onion, Dried Garlic, Natural Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Chive, Feta Cheese (processing marker), Bell Peppers, White Pepper, Pink Peppercorn, White Pepper

Additives: E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Maize Flour, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower/Rapeseed), Chickpea Flour, Red Quinoa, Lactose (Milk), Dried Green Olives, Sugar, Dried Yeast Extract, Regulator: Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Extract of Onion, Dried Garlic, Natural Flavouring, Dried Chive, Dried Feta Cheese (Milk), Dried Bell Peppers, Dried White Pepper, Pink Peppercorn Extract, Ground White Pepper

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.

Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.

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.

Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
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 21 flavoured corn crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 12th. 62% of the flavoured corn crisps 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 21 flavoured corn crisps, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29413034, last edited 11 December 2024), 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.