Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Rustlers The Iconic Quarter Pounder ultra-processed?

190 g Microwave meals Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Rustlers The Iconic Quarter Pounder

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:

  • 61 ingredients
  • 12 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed microwave meals

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

Beef Burger 43% (Beef, Beef Fat, Soya Protein, Salt, Wheat Flour, Dextrose, Sugar, e451, Egg White Powder, Yeast Extract, Hydrolysed Soya Protein, Barley Malt Extract, Flavourings), Sesame Seeded Bun (Wheat Flour, Water, Rapeseed Oil, Yeast, Sesame Seeds, Sugar, Salt, Wheat Gluten, e472e, e471, e282, e300), Rustlers Sauce, Tomato Puree, Spirit Vinegar, Onion, Sugar, Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Mustard Seeds, Salt, Gherkin, Spices, e202, Mustard Flour, Flavouring, e160c, Dill Oil Processed Cheese Slice, Cheese, Water, Butter, Skimmed Milk Powder, Whey Powder, e452, e331, e339, Flavouring, Milk Protein, Calcium Phosphate, Salt, e160a, e160c, e330) *Wheat flour with calcium, iron, niacin, thiamin

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160c Paprika extract , E202 Potassium sorbate , E282 Calcium propionate , E300 Ascorbic acid , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E339 Sodium phosphates , E451 Triphosphates , E452 Polyphosphates , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Beef Burger (43%) [Beef, Beef Fat, Soya Protein, Salt, Wheat Flour*, Dextrose, Sugar, Stabiliser: E451; Egg White Powder, Yeast Extract, Hydrolysed Soya Protein, Barley Malt Extract, Flavourings]. Sesame Seeded Bun [Wheat Flour*, Water, Rapeseed Oil, Yeast, Sesame Seeds, Sugar, Salt, Wheat Gluten, Emulsifiers: E472e, E471; Preservative: E282; Antioxidant: E300], Rustlers Sauce [Tomato Puree, Spirit Vinegar, Onion, Sugar, Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Mustard Seeds, Salt, Gherkin, Spices, Preservative: E202; Mustard Flour, Flavouring, Colour: E160c; Dill Oil Processed Cheese Slice [Cheese (Milk), Water, Butter (Milk), Skimmed Milk Powder, Whey Powder (Milk), Emulsifying Salts: E452, E331, E339; Flavouring (Milk), Milk Protein, Calcium Phosphate, Salt, Colours: E160a, E160c; Acidity Regulator: E330) *Wheat flour with calcium, iron, niacin & thiamin

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.

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  • 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.

  • 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.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • 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.
8 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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate 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.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sandwiches Products in the category "Sandwiches" are at least group 3.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 350 microwave meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 346th. 72% of the microwave meals 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 350 microwave meals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5390605004073, last edited 29 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.