Is Marks & Spencers Mexican Chilli Bean Soup ultra-processed?

600g Vegetable soups Sold in Ireland

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Emulsifier
E322 Lecithins

18 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed vegetable soups

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

Tomatoes, Water, Red peppers, Black beans, pinto beans, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, tomato puree, rapeseed oil, garlic puree, dark chocolate, emulsifier (ultra-processing marker), soya, lecithin (ultra-processing marker), cornflour, salt (processing marker)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

Tomatoes, Water, Red peppers, Black beans, pinto beans, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, tomato puree, rapeseed oil, garlic puree, dark chocolate, emulsifier, soya, lecithin, cornflour, salt,

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.

E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
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.

Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 226 vegetable soups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 176th. 52% of the vegetable soups 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 226 vegetable soups, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29036325, last edited 6 May 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.