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Is Sainsbury's Chargrilled Salt & Chilli British Chicken Thigh Fillets ultra-processed?

Chickens Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Chargrilled Salt & Chilli British Chicken Thigh Fillets

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:

  • 42 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed chickens

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

British Chicken Thigh, Sugar, Cornflour, Maltodextrin, Salt, Dried Garlic, Yeast Extract, Onion, Chilli, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Red Pepper, Honey, Chilli, Stabiliser (Sodium Triphosphate), Ginger, Dextrose, Lemon Juice, Garlic, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Smoked Salt, Paprika Extract, Clove, 14gLemon Oil, Spirit Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil, Sunflower Oil, Capsicum Extract, Flavouring, 131 150g 5.0g UK, NI ZU028 EC 1.79 1.7g 3.5g 1.3g <0.5g 17.9g 0.43g akes go FoodLabels t, Full refund, Made using 120g of chicken per 100g of marinated, chicken, Moisture is lost during cooking, Safety (Although every care has been taken to remove all bones), some may remain, slight odour may be present upon opening due to the protective atmosphere packing-this does not affect the quality and flavour of the chicken, TRAY Recycle

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E451 Triphosphates , E451i Pentasodium triphosphate

As written on the pack

British Chicken Thigh, Sugar, Cornflour, Maltodextrin, Salt, Dried Garlic, Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, Chilli Powder, Red Pepper, Black Pepper, Red Pepper Powder, Honey, Chilli Flakes, Stabiliser: Sodium Triphosphate; Ginger, Dextrose, Lemon Juice, Garlic Powder, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Smoked Salt, Paprika Extract, Clove, 14gLemon Oil, Spirit Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil, Sunflower Oil, Capsicum Extract, Flavouring. 131 150g 5.0g UK(NI ZU028 EC 1.79 1.7g 3.5g 1.3g &lt;0.5g 17.9g 0.43g akes go FoodLabels t. Full refund. Made using 120g of chicken per 100g of marinated, cooked chicken. Moisture is lost during cooking. Safety: Although every care has been taken to remove all bones, some may remain. slight odour may be present upon opening due to the protective atmosphere packing-this does not affect the quality or flavour of the chicken. TRAY Recycle

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
4 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.

  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 356 chickens

From least to most processed, this one ranks 324th. 74% of the chickens 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 356 chickens, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00427333, 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.