Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Marks & Spencer Plant based Burgers with Soya Protein ultra-processed?

400g Meat analogues Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Pack of Marks & Spencer Plant based Burgers with Soya Protein

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed meat analogues

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

Water, Soya Protein, Sunflower Oil, White Onions 5%, Red Peppers 3.5%, Beetroot 3%, Crumb (Rice Flour Chickpea Flour, Cornflour, Salt, Dextrose), Potato Flakes, Stabiliser (e461), E40, Onion Extract, Flavourings, Sea Salt, Cornflour, Colour (Plain Caramel), Yeast Extract, Brown Sugar, Cracked Black Pepper

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E461 Methyl cellulose

As written on the pack

Water, Concentrated Soya Protein, Sunflower Oil, White Onions (5%), Red Peppers (3.5%), Beetroot (3%), Gluten Free Crumb (Rice Flour Chickpea Flour, Cornflour, Salt, Dextrose), Potato Flakes, Stabiliser: E461, E40, Onion Extract, Flavourings, Sea Salt, Cornflour, Colour: Plain Caramel, Yeast Extract, Brown Sugar, Cracked Black Pepper.

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • E461 Methyl cellulose 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.
  • 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 512 meat analogues

From least to most processed, this one ranks 369th. 80% of the meat analogues 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 512 meat analogues, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29214655, 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.