Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's 10% Fat 12 Beef Meatballs ultra-processed?

Meat balls Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's 10% Fat 12 Beef Meatballs

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed meat balls

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 89%, water, breadcrumb (rice flour, gram flour, starch, salt, dextrose), seasoning (sea salt, crumb (rice flour, water dextrose, vegetable fibre, salt, caramelised sugar syrup, para extract, spices black pepper), sodium metabisulphite), coriander, par allergy advice, produced and packed in the uk using a blend of fresh and frozen british beef for sainsbury's supermarkets ltd, london ecin 2ht, careline 0800 636262, www.sainsburys.co.uk packaged in a protective atmosphere, see reverse for recycling and further product information, 774909 c0094 118

Additives: E223 Sodium metabisulphite

As written on the pack

beef (89%), water, gluten free breadcrumb (rice flour, gram flour, starch, salt, dextrose), gluten free seasoning (sea salt, gluten free crumb [rice flour, water dextrose, vegetable fibre, salt, caramelised sugar syrup, para extract, spices black pepper], sodium metabisulphite (sulphites)), coriander, par allergy advice: for allergens, see ingredients in bold. produced and packed in the uk using a blend of fresh and frozen british beef for sainsbury's supermarkets ltd, london ecin 2ht. careline 0800 636262. www.sainsburys.co.uk packaged in a protective atmosphere. see reverse for recycling and further product information. 774909 c0094 118

What makes it ultra-processed

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.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
3 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 47 meat balls

From least to most processed, this one ranks 38th. 74% of the meat balls 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 47 meat balls, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01723526, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.