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Is Sainsbury's Bubble & squeak vegan smoked cheddar melt ultra-processed?

280g Vegetable based frozen ready-made meals Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Bubble & squeak vegan smoked cheddar melt

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:

  • 71 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed vegetable based frozen ready-made 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

Brussels Sprouts 24%, Water, Smoky Applewood Melt 13% (Water, Coconut Oil, Modified Potato Starch, Maize Starch, Water, Thickeners (Carrageenan, Guar Gum), Oat Fibre, Modified Maize Starch, Tricalcium Citrate, Soya Protein, Flavourings, Fructose, Sea Salt, Acidity Regulators (Lactic Acid, Sodium lactate, Citric Acid), Yeast Extract, Salt, Sugar, Colour (Carotenes)), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Potato, Potato, Leek, Garlic, Rapeseed Oil, Spring Onion, Onion, Pea Fibre, Shea Oil, Coconut Oil, Yeast Extract, Salt, Mustard Seed, Modified Potato Starch, Parsley, Nutmeg, Spirit Vinegar, Dextrose, Maize Starch, Oat Fibre, Thickeners (Guar Gum, Carrageenan), Modified Maize Starch, Turmeric, Paprika, Acidity Regulators (Lactic Acid, Sodium lactate), Flavourings, Colour (Carotenes), Cinnamon, Coriander, Fenugreek, Yeast, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E270 Lactic acid , E325 Sodium lactate , E330 Citric acid , E407 Carrageenan , E412 Guar gum

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: Vegetable fat.

As written on the pack

Brussels Sprouts 24%, Water, Vegan Smoky Applewood Melt 13% (Water, Coconut Oil, Modified Potato Starch, Maize Starch, Smoked Water, Thickeners (Carrageenan, Guar Gum), Oat Fibre, Modified Maize Starch, Tricalcium Citrate, Soya Protein Concentrate, Flavourings, Fructose, Sea Salt, Acidity Regulators (Lactic Acid, Sodium lactate, Citric Acid), Yeast Extract, Salt, Sugar, Colour (Carotenes)), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Potato, Dried Potato, Leek, Garlic, Rapeseed Oil, Spring Onion, Onion, Pea Fibre, Shea Oil, Coconut Oil, Yeast Extract, Salt, Mustard Seed, Modified Potato Starch, Parsley, Nutmeg, Spirit Vinegar, Dextrose, Maize Starch, Oat Fibre, Thickeners (Guar Gum, Carrageenan), Modified Maize Starch, Turmeric, Paprika, Acidity Regulators (Lactic Acid, Sodium lactate), Flavourings, Colour (Carotenes), Cinnamon, Coriander, Fenugreek, Yeast, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid).

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
  • E325 Sodium lactate Antioxidants are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by oxidation, such as fat rancidity and colour changes.
  • E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Show 3 more
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.
  • 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.

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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • 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.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 9 vegetable based frozen ready-made meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 56% of the vegetable based frozen ready-made 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 9 vegetable based frozen ready-made meals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5063334010331, 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.