Is M&S Free range egg, tomato & salad cream ultra-processed?

1 pack Sandwiches 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:

Dextrose
Emulsifier
Glucose
Gluten
Thickener
Vegetable fiber
and 3 more

38 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed sandwiches

Durum Wheat Piadina Crosta Mollica 4 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
5 Large Traditional Lebanese Flat Bread White Dina 10 ingredients · 1 additive NOVA group 3
Spinach and pea burger Plants 44 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Smoky Chipotle + Black Bean Burrito Bowl Pollen + Grace 54 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

boiled free raneegg 27% (with wheatflour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), vine ripened tomatoes 19%, water, malted wheatflakes, vinegar, unsalted butter (processing marker), salt (processing marker), yeast (yeast, vitamin D yeast), malted barley flour, pasteurised free range egg yolk, chives, wheat gluten (ultra-processing marker), emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (e471 (ultra-processing marker), e472e (ultra-processing marker)), malted wheatflour, black mustard seeds, citrus fibre (ultra-processing marker), rapeseed oil, free range egg, cracked black pepper, dextrose (ultra-processing marker), thickener (ultra-processing marker) (pectin (ultra-processing marker)), concentrated lemon juice, flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid), mustard, palm oil, palm fat, wheat starch (processing marker)

Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid , E440 Pectins , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

boiled free raneegg 27%, wheatflour contains gluten (with wheatflour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), vine ripened tomatoes 19%, water, malted wheatflakes (contain gluten), vinegar, unsalted butter (milk), salt, yeast (yeast, vitamin D yeast), malted barley flour (contains gluten), pasteurised free range egg yolk, chives, wheat gluten, emulsifier (E471, E472e), malted wheatflour (contains gluten), black mustard seeds, citrus fibre, cold pressed rapeseed oil, pasteurised free range egg, cracked black pepper, dextrose, thickener (pectin), concentrated lemon juice, flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid), dried mustard, palm oil, palm fat, wheat starch (contains gluten)

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.

E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.

Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.

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.

Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
Sandwiches Products in the category "Sandwiches" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 324 sandwiches

From least to most processed, this one ranks 296th. 82% of the sandwiches 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 324 sandwiches, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00869256, 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.