Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Merchant Gourmet 3 Bean & Lentil Chilli ultra-processed?

280g Pulses Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Merchant Gourmet 3 Bean & Lentil Chilli

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:

  • 59 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed pulses

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

Brown Lentils 29% (Water, Brown Lentils), Black Beans 18% (Water, Black Beans), Pinto Beans 14% (Water, Pinto Beans), Carrot, Sweetcorn 7%, Red Pepper 6%, Tomato Paste, Onions, Chipotle Chilli Seasoning 2% (Sugar, Maize Starch, Dried Glucose Syrup, Smoked Paprika 0.1%, Chipotle Chilli 0.1%, Red Pepper, Garlic, Cumin, Onion, Salt, Chillies, Acidity Regulator, Black Pepper, Dried Rubbed Parsley, Colour, Chilli Flavouring), Kidney Beans 1.8%, Vegetable Bouillon (Salt, Yeast Extract, Dextrose, Potato Starch, Onion Extract, Carrot Powder, Parsley, Spice Extracts (Pepper, Celery), Colour, Herb Extracts (Marjoram, Thyme, Sage)), Tomato, Garlic Purée, Smoked Paprika 0.7%, Lime Juice, Cornflour, Red Chilli, Cumin, Black Pepper, Salt, Dried Oregano, Bay Leaf

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract , E330 Citric acid

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E100 Curcumin, E160c Paprika extract.

As written on the pack

Cooked Brown Lentils (29%) (Water, Brown Lentils), Cooked Black Beans (18%) (Water, Black Beans), Cooked Pinto Beans (14%) (Water, Pinto Beans), Carrot, Sweetcorn (7%), Red Pepper (6%), Tomato Paste, Onions, Chipotle Chilli Seasoning (2.0%) (Sugar, Maize Starch, Dried Glucose Syrup, Smoked Paprika Powder [0.1%], Chipotle Chilli Powder [0.1%], Dried Minced Red Pepper, Garlic Powder, Ground Cumin, Dried Minced Onion, Salt, Crushed Chillies, Acidity Regulator [Citric Acid], Ground Black Pepper, Dried Rubbed Parsley, Colour [Paprika Extract], Chilli Flavouring), Kidney Beans (1.8%), Vegetable Bouillon (Salt, Yeast Extract, Dextrose, Potato Starch, Onion Extract, Carrot Powder, Parsley, Spice Extracts [Pepper and Celery], Colour [Curcumin], Herb Extracts [Marjoram, Thyme and Sage]), Tomato Powder, Garlic Purée, Smoked Paprika Powder (0.7%), Lime Juice, Cornflour, Red Chilli, Cumin Powder, Black Pepper, Salt, Dried Oregano, Ground Bay Leaf.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Glucose syrup 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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 377 pulses

From least to most processed, this one ranks 377th. 34% of the pulses 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 377 pulses, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5056215600721, last edited 20 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.