Is it ultra-processed?
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Is McCain Thick Cut Chips ultra-processed?

1 kg Frozen potatoes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of McCain Thick Cut Chips

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:

  • 20 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed frozen potatoes

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

Potatoes 91%, Sunflower Oil 5%, Batter, Flour (Wheat (with Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Rice, Broad Bean), Dextrin, Starch (Wheat, Potato), Vegetable Fibre, Turmeric Extract, Colour (Paprika Extract), Salt

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E1400 Dextrin , E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Potatoes 91%, Sunflower Oil 5%, Batter (Flour (Wheat (with Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Rice, Broad Bean), Dextrin, Starch (Wheat, Potato), Vegetable Fibre, Turmeric Extract, Colour (Paprika Extract)), 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.

  • E100 Curcumin 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.
  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

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.

  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 22 frozen potatoes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 21st. 68% of the frozen potatoes 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 22 frozen potatoes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010228077857, last edited 18 April 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.