Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Nissin soba noodles duck ultra-processed?

180 g Instant noodles Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Pack of Nissin soba noodles duck

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:

  • 41 ingredients
  • 8 additives

Less processed instant noodles

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

wheat flour, palm oil, salt, flavour enhancer (e621), flour treatment agents (e500, e451), antioxidant (e306), acidity regulator (citric acid, sugar), rapeseed oil, soy sauce (water, soybean, wheat, salt), dextrose, water, soybean paste (soybean, wheat flour, water, salt), flavour enhancers (e621, e635), hydrolysed maize protein, flavourings, salt, modified starch, vinegar, chicken fat, colour (plain caramel), spices, carrot, duck meat 0.9%, green onion

Additives: E14XX Modified Starch , E150a Plain caramel , E306 Tocopherol-rich extract , E330 Citric acid , E451 Triphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide

As written on the pack

wheat flour, palm oil, salt, flavour enhancer (e621), flour treatment agents (e500, e451), antioxidant (e306), acidity regulator: citric acid. sugar, rapeseed oil, soy sauce (water, soybean, wheat, salt), dextrose, water, soybean paste (soybean, wheat flour, water, salt), flavour enhancers (e621, e635), hydrolysed maize protein, flavourings, salt, modified starch, vinegar, chicken fat, colour (plain caramel), spices, carrot, duck meat (0,9%), green onion,

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.

  • E14xx Modified Starch Modified starches (E1400 to E1452) are starches treated physically, with enzymes or chemically so that they thicken and hold up to heating, freezing or acidity better than ordinary starch.
  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • 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.
  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide A food additive authorised for industrial food production.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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  • Flavour enhancer Flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate (E621) strengthen savoury taste without adding a flavour of their own.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
4 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.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 242 instant noodles

From least to most processed, this one ranks 216th. 93% of the instant noodles 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 242 instant noodles, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5997523315757, 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.