Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Cheddar cheese ultra-processed?

Breadsticks Sold in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man

Pack of Sainsbury's Cheddar cheese

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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed breadsticks

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

water, chili, enriched wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, flavor base, salt, dextrose, maltodextrin, modified corn starch, vegetable oil, yeast extract, onion, turmeric, natural flavorings, olive oil, cayenne pepper sauce, cayenne peppers, distilled vinegar, salt, corn oil, corn fiber, sunflower lecithin, tocopherol, gum, citric acid, salt, xanthan gum, garlic, onion

Additives: E306 Tocopherol-rich extract , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

water, chili powder, enriched wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, flavor base, salt, dextrose, maltodextrin, modified corn starch, vegetable oil, yeast extract, onion powder, turmeric, natural flavorings, olive oil, cayenne pepper sauce, cayenne peppers, distilled vinegar, salt, corn oil, corn fiber, sunflower lecithin, tocopherol, gum, citric acid, salt, xanthan gum, garlic powder, onion powder

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 55 breadsticks

From least to most processed, this one ranks 55th. 18% of the breadsticks 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 55 breadsticks, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00289658, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.