Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Pot Noodle King pot pasta ultra-processed?

Noodles Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Pot Noodle King pot pasta

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:

  • 39 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed 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

potato starch skimmed MILK powder, cheese powder (529), blue cheese, hard cheese MILK, crescenza cheese, whey product, sunflower oil, cream powder, smoked belly bacon (219, pork, salt, stabiliser (sodium nitrite), smoke), glucose syrup, flavourings, ladose (MIL), fodised salt, potassium chloride, sugar, difives, yeast extract, sall, smoked bacon ftet (Corcon, salt, smoke), MILK proteins, onion, turmeric, May contin celery, egg, mustard, other cereals containing gluten, sesame seeds, soy ge

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E508 Potassium chloride

As written on the pack

(6169) (Gurum WHEAT semolina. WHEAT flour).potato starch skimmed MILK powder, processed cheese powder (529) [blue cheese (MILK), hard cheese MILK), crescenza cheese (MILK), whey product (MILK), sunflower oil, cream powder (MILK) (28%), smoked belly bacon (219) (pork, salt, stabiliser (sodium nitrite), smoke), glucose syrup, flavourings (contain MILK), ladose (MIL), fodised salt, potassium chloride, sugar, difives, yeast extract, sall, smoked bacon ftet (Corcon, salt, smoke), MILK proteins, onion powder, turmeric. May contin celery, egg, mustard, other cereals containing gluten, sesame seeds and soy ge From sustainable agriculture

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.

  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
  • Whey product An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
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.

  • E250 Sodium nitrite Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • 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 416 noodles

From least to most processed, this one ranks 264th. 73% of the 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 416 noodles, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8710522806616, last edited 12 April 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.