Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Princes Plant based lentil and mushroom bolognese ultra-processed?

Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Princes Plant based lentil and mushroom bolognese

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:

  • 33 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score A

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Red Lentils 25%, Tomatoes 18%, Tomato Puree, Mushrooms 10%, Onion, Carrot, Red Pepper, Garlic Puree, Modified Maize Starch, Maize Starch, Basil, Rapeseed Oil, Mushrooms, Salt, Mushroom Extract, Worcester Sauce (Water, Sugar, Spirit Vinegar, Molasses, Onion, Salt, Tamarind Paste, Cloves, Ginger, Garlic Puree), Sugar, Yeast Extract, Oregano, Black Pepper, Paprika Extract, Concentrated Leek Juice, White Pepper

Additives: E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Red Lentils (25%), Tomatoes (18%), Tomato Puree, Mushrooms (10%), Onion, Carrot, Red Pepper, Garlic Puree, Modified Maize Starch, Maize Starch, Basil, Rapeseed Oil, Dried Mushrooms, Salt, Mushroom Extract, Worcester Sauce (Water, Sugar, Spirit Vinegar, Molasses, Onion Puree, Salt, Tamarind Paste, Cloves, Ginger Puree, Garlic Puree), Sugar, Yeast Extract, Oregano, Black Pepper, Paprika Extract, Concentrated Leek Juice, White Pepper.

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.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • 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.
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.

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

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000232027948, 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.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.