Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Pizza Express bbq chicken pizza ultra-processed?

272 g Frozen pizzas Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Pizza Express bbq chicken pizza

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:

  • 65 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed frozen pizzas

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 (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Tomato Purée, Mozzarella Cheese, BBQ Chicken 13% (Chicken, Tomato Purée, Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Tomato, Modified Tapioca Starch, Salt, Water, Cane Molasses, Cornflour, Smoke Flavouring, Dextrose, Caramelised Sugar Syrup, Smoked Paprika, Spirit Vinegar, Chicken, Tapioca Flour, Yeast Extract, Garlic, Pepper, Onion, Parsley, Sunflower Oil, Garlic Purée, Basil, Tapioca Starch, Water, Lemon Juice, Pectin, Maize Starch, Clove, Oregano), Red Onion 5%, Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Rapeseed Oil, Tomato, Semolina (Wheat), Spirit Vinegar, Water, Salt, Cane Molasses, Cornflour, Yeast, Caramelised Sugar Syrup, Smoked Paprika, Garlic Purée, Basil Tapioca Starch, Oregano, Water, Lemon Juice, Pectin, Black Pepper, Maize Starch, Clove

Additives: E440 Pectins

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Tomato Purée, Mozzarella Cheese (Milk), BBQ Chicken (13%) (Chicken, Tomato Purée, Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Tomato, Modified Tapioca Starch, Salt, Water, Cane Molasses, Cornflour, Smoke Flavouring, Dextrose, Caramelised Sugar Syrup, Smoked Paprika, Spirit Vinegar, Dried Chicken, Tapioca Flour, Yeast Extract, Garlic, Pepper, Onion, Parsley, Sunflower Oil, Garlic Purée, Basil, Tapioca Starch, Smoked Water, Lemon Juice, Thickener (Pectin), Maize Starch, Clove Powder, Oregano), Red Onion (5%), Sugar, Invert Sugar Syrup, Rapeseed Oil, Tomato, Semolina (Wheat), Spirit Vinegar, Water, Salt, Cane Molasses, Cornflour, Yeast, Caramelised Sugar Syrup, Smoked Paprika, Garlic Purée, Basil Tapioca Starch, Oregano, Smoked Water, Lemon Juice, Thickener (Pectin), Black Pepper, Maize Starch, Clove Powder

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.

  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
6 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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 191 frozen pizzas

From least to most processed, this one ranks 164th. 84% of the frozen pizzas 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 191 frozen pizzas, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5051873005932, last edited 16 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.