Is Marks and spencer French Torchon Ham ultra-processed?

White hams 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
Glucose

23 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed white hams

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 90%, water, curing salt (salt preservative (sodium nitrate (processing marker))), pork stock (salt (processing marker), water, pork fat, onions, carrots, pork bones, pork, parsley, bay), spices (black pepper, cloves, garlic), sea salt (processing marker), dextrose (ultra-processing marker), antioxidant (e316)

Additives: E251 Sodium nitrate , E316 Sodium erythorbate

As written on the pack

pork (90%), water, curing salt (salt preservative: sodium nitrate), pork stock (salt, water, pork fat, onions, carrots, pork bones, pork, dried parsley, dried bay leaves), ground spices (black pepper, cloves, garlic), sea salt, dextrose, antioxidant: E316

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

E251 Sodium nitrate 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 65 white hams

From least to most processed, this one ranks 36th. 78% of the white hams 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 65 white hams, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29196906, last edited 15 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.