Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's British Ham Slices ultra-processed?

White hams Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's British Ham Slices

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:

  • 22 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed white hams

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

Pork, Salt, Breadcrumbs (Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Yeast, Salt, Colours (Paprika Extract), Curcumin), Sugar, Stabilisers (Triphosphates), Pork Gelatine, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Preservative (Sodium Nitrite)

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract , E250 Sodium nitrite , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E428 Gelatine , E451 Triphosphates

As written on the pack

Pork, Salt, Breadcrumbs (Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Yeast, Salt, Colours: Paprika Extract, Curcumin)), Sugar, Stabilisers: Triphosphates; Pork Gelatine, Antioxidant: Sodium Ascorbate; Preservative: Sodium Nitrite.

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
  • E451 Triphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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.

  • 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.
  • Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 65 white hams

From least to most processed, this one ranks 59th. 78% of the white hams 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 65 white hams, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00120814, last edited 5 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.