Is Marks & Spencer Cheese & Onion Sandwich ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- Colour
- Emulsifier
- E160b Annatto
- E160c Paprika extract
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
- E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
- 19 ingredients
- 4 additives
- Nutri-Score E
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Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Water Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese, Red Leicester Cheese (processing marker) 8% (Red Leicester Cheese, Natural Colour (ultra-processing marker) (e160b (ultra-processing marker))), Rapeseed Oil Red Onions 4%, Oatmeal Pasteurised Egg Yolk Wheat Bran, Cornflour Dried Egg Salt White Wine Vinegar Yeast (Yeast, Vitamin D Yeast), Wheatflour, Emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (e471 (ultra-processing marker)), e472e Concentrated Lemon Juice Wheat Gluten Mustard Extract, Malted Barley Flour, Palm Oil, Sugar Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid Palm Fat Natural Colour), Paprika Extract (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E160b Annatto , E160c Paprika extract , 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
Wheatflour contains Gluten (with Wheatflour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin) Water Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese (Milk) (16%) Red Leicester Cheese (8%) (Red Leicester Cheese (Milk) Natural Colour: E160b) Rapeseed Oil Red Onions (4%) Oatmeal Pasteurised Egg Yolk Wheat Bran (contains Gluten) Cornflour Dried Egg Salt White Wine Vinegar Yeast (Yeast. Vitamin D Yeast) Dried Fermented Wheatflour (contains Gluten) Emulsifier: E471, E472e Concentrated Lemon Juice Wheat Gluten Mustard Extract - Malted Barley Flour (contains Gluten) Palm Oil - Sugar Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid Palm Fat Natural Colour: 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.
- E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
- E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
- 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.
- Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
- Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
2 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.
- Sandwiches Products in the category "Sandwiches" are at least group 3.
- Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
Among 324 sandwiches
From least to most processed, this one ranks 242nd. 82% of the sandwiches here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00556729, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.