Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Mama Mary's Pepperoni ultra-processed?

6 oz Prepared meats Sold in the United States

Pack of Mama Mary's Pepperoni

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:

  • 13 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed prepared meats

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

Pork, beef, salt, spices, dextrose, lactic acid starter cuture, oleoresin of paprika, flavoring, sodium ascorbate, sodium nitrite, bha, bht, citric acid

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E250 Sodium nitrite , E320 Butylated hydroxyanisole (bha) , E321 Butylated hydroxytoluene , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Pork and beef, salt, spices, dextrose, lactic acid starter cuture, oleoresin of paprika, flavoring, sodium ascorbate, sodium nitrite, bha, bht, citric acid.

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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
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.

  • E250 Sodium nitrite Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 881 prepared meats

From least to most processed, this one ranks 725th. 73% of the prepared meats 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 881 prepared meats, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0035457770718, last edited 22 February 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.