Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Merchant Gourmet Mediterranean-Style Vegetables & Giant Couscous ultra-processed?

400 g Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Merchant Gourmet Mediterranean-Style Vegetables & Giant Couscous

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:

  • 36 ingredients
  • No additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Cooked Giant Couscous 24% (Water, Giant Couscous (Wheat)), Red Onion 14%, Red Pepper 14%, Aubergine 14% (Aubergine, Sunflower Oil), Courgette 14%, Water, Garlic Purée (Garlic, Water, Salt), Tomato Concentrate 1.5%, Herb Blend 1.5% (Salt, Dextrose, Paprika, Black Pepper, Ginger, Oregano, Coriander Seeds, Garlic, Rosemary, Thyme, Cayenne Pepper, Maltodextrin, Spice Extracts (Paprika), Cardamom, Garlic), Basil 1%, Potato Starch, Salt

As written on the pack

Cooked Giant Couscous (24%) (Water, Giant Couscous (Wheat)), Red Onion (14%), Red Pepper (14%), Fried Aubergine (14%) (Aubergine, Sunflower Oil), Courgette (14%), Water, Garlic Purée (Garlic, Water, Salt), Tomato Concentrate (1.5%), Herb Blend (1.5%) (Salt, Dextrose, Paprika, Black Pepper, Ginger, Oregano, Coriander Seeds, Garlic, Rosemary, Thyme, Cayenne Pepper, Maltodextrin, Spice Extracts: Paprika, Cardamom, Garlic), Basil (1.0%), Potato Starch, Salt.

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.

  • 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.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5056215600400, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.