Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Morrisons Thick British Cumberland sausages ultra-processed?

400 g Pork sausages Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Morrisons Thick British Cumberland sausages

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:

  • 25 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed pork sausages

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

Pork 90%, Rice flour, Salt, Gram flour, Dextrose monohydrate, Black pepper, Sage, Parsley, Thickener (calcium lactate), Onion powder, Dextrose, Yeast extract, Stabiliser (triphosphates), Maize starch, Nutmeg, Preservative (sodium metabisulphite), Mace, White pepper, Antioxidant (ascorbic acid), Calcium chloride, Sausage filled in a calcium alginate casing

Additives: E223 Sodium metabisulphite , E300 Ascorbic acid , E327 Calcium lactate , E451 Triphosphates

As written on the pack

Pork (90%), Rice flour, Salt, Gram flour, Dextrose monohydrate, Black pepper, Sage, Parsley, Thickener (calcium lactate), Onion powder, Dextrose, Yeast extract, Stabiliser (triphosphates), Maize starch, Nutmeg, Preservative (sodium metabisulphite), Mace, White pepper, Antioxidant (ascorbic acid), Calcium chloride. Sausage filled in a calcium alginate casing.

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.

  • E327 Calcium lactate Thickeners are substances which increase the viscosity of a foodstuff.
  • E451 Triphosphates 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.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.
5 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.

  • Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
  • Sausages Products in the category "Sausages" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 55 pork sausages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 42nd. 89% of the pork sausages 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 55 pork sausages, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010251797500, last edited 10 July 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.