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Is Old El Paso Fajita the Kit Smoky BBQ ultra-processed?

Meal kits Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Old El Paso Fajita the Kit Smoky BBQ

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
  • Nutri-Score D

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 65% (wheat flour), water, glycerol, vegetable oil, mono- and digtycerides of fatty acids, dextrose, sodium bicarbonate, diphosphates, salt, salsa for topping 29% (chopped tomatoes 64%), onions 17%, green peppers 11%, tomato paste, salt, vinegar, sugar, lemon juice concentrate, chili pepper 0.4%, garlic powder, natural flavouring, citric acid, calcium chloride, modified corn starch, seasoning mix 6% (sugar), vegetables (onion, garlic), salt, hydrolysed soy protein, spices (black pepper, cayenne pepper, ginger), smoke flavouring, citric acid, flavourings, yeast extract, plain caramel

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E330 Citric acid , E422 Glycerol , E450 Diphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E509 Calcium chloride , E570 Fatty acids

As written on the pack

super soft flour tortillas (65%): wheat flour, water, stabiliser (glycerol), vegetable oil (sunflower oil), emulsifier (mono - and digtycerides of fatty acids), dextrose, raising agents (sodium bicarbonate, diphosphates), salt, salsa for topping (29%): chopped tomatoes (64%), onions (17%), green peppers (11%), tomato paste, salt, vinegar, sugar, lemon juice concentrate, chili pepper (0,4%), garlic powder, natural flavouring, acidity regulator (citric acid), firming agent (calcium chloride), modified corn starch, seasoning mix (6%): sugar, dehydrated vegetables (onion, garlic), salt, hydrolysed soy protein, spices (black pepper, cayenne pepper, ginger) (6%), smoke flavouring, acidity regulator (citric acid), flavourings, yeast extract, colour (plain caramel)

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • 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.
  • 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 16th. 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 8410076471178, last edited 26 August 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.