Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Old El Paso FAJITA the Kit ultra-processed?

555 g Meal kits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Old El Paso FAJITA the Kit

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:

  • 35 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed meal kits

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

super soft flour tortillas 59% (wheat flour), water, glycerol, vegetable oil, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, dextrose, sodium bicarbonate, diphosphates, salt, salsa for topping 26% (chopped tomatoes 51%), water, tomato paste 10%, modified corn starch, dried onions, salt, sugar, citric acid, green chili pepper, paprika, onion powder, calcium chloride, garlic powder, seasoning mix 15% (wheat flour), salt, wheat bran, spices (paprika, turmeric, black pepper), dried onion, flavouring, yeast

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E422 Glycerol , E450 Diphosphates , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E509 Calcium chloride

As written on the pack

super soft flour tortillas (59%): wheat flour, water, stabiliser (glycerol), vegetable oil (sunflower oil), emulsifier (mono - and diglycerides of fatty acids), dextrose, raising agents (sodium bicarbonate, diphosphates), salt, salsa for topping (26%): chopped tomatoes (51%), water, tomato paste (10%), modified corn starch, dried onions, salt, sugar, acidity regulator (citric acid), green chili pepper, paprika, onion powder, firming agent (calcium chloride), garlic powder, seasoning mix (15%): wheat flour, salt, wheat bran, spices (paprika, turmeric, black pepper) (4%), dried onion, flavouring, yeast

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.

  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • 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.
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.

  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Meal kits Products in the category "Meal kits" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 20 meal kits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 15th. 75% of the meal kits 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 20 meal kits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8410076470775, last edited 6 September 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.