Is Marks & Spencer Korean style spicy chicken thighs ultra-processed?

600g Chicken thighs Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Glucose
Glucose syrup

10 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed chicken thighs

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

Chicken 80%, Gochujang Chilli Glaze 16% (Glucose Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Rice Vinegar, Water Sugar Red Chilli Purée Red Peppers Ginger Purée Garlic Purée Vinegar, Fermented Soya Bean Paste Salt Flavouring Ground Paprika, Chilli, Dried Onions Dried Garlic Cornflour Ground Cayenne Pepper Yeast Extract Maltodextrin), Honey Ginger Purée Salt, Garlic Purée Dried Red Peppers Soybeans Vinegar

As written on the pack

Dried Chicken (80%) Gochujang Chilli Glaze (16%) (Glucose Syrup - Rice Vinegar (contains Sulphites) Water Sugar Red Chilli Purée Red Peppers Ginger Purée Garlic Purée Vinegar - Fermented Soya Bean Paste Salt Flavouring Ground Paprika - Chilli Powder - Dried Onions Dried Garlic Cornflour Ground Cayenne Pepper Yeast Extract Maltodextrin) Honey Ginger Purée Salt - Garlic Purée Dried Red Peppers Soybeans Vinegar

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.

Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 11 chicken thighs

From least to most processed, this one ranks 5th. 82% of the chicken thighs 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 11 chicken thighs, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29013876, last edited 17 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.