Is Sainsbury's Cheese & Red Onion Sandwich ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- Gluten
- E160b Annatto
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
- E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
- 38 ingredients
- 5 additives
- Nutri-Score D
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Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Oatmeal Bread (Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Folic Acid, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Oatmeal, Wheat Bran, Yeast, Wheat Gluten (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids (ultra-processing marker), mono- and Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids (ultra-processing marker), Malted Barley Flour, Rapeseed Oil, Ascorbic Acid, Wheat Flour, Wheat Starch (processing marker)), Mayonnaise (processing marker) (Water, Rapeseed Oil, Cornflour, Spirit Vinegar, Pasteurised Free Range Egg Yolk, Sugar (processing marker), White Wine Vinegar, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Salt (processing marker), Mustard Seeds), Medium Mature Cheddar Cheese (processing marker) 12% (Cows' Milk), Red Leicester Cheese (processing marker) 12% (Cow's Milk, Annatto Norbixin (ultra-processing marker)), Red Onion 3.5%
Additives: E160b Annatto , E160bii Annatto norbixin , E300 Ascorbic acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
As written on the pack
Oatmeal Bread (Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Folic Acid, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Oatmeal, Wheat Bran, Yeast, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Emulsifiers: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Mono - and Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids; Malted Barley Flour, Rapeseed Oil, Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid; Wheat Flour, Wheat Starch), Mayonnaise (Water, Rapeseed Oil, Cornflour, Spirit Vinegar, Pasteurised Free Range Egg Yolk, Sugar, White Wine Vinegar, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Salt, Mustard Seeds), Medium Mature Cheddar Cheese (12%) (Cows' Milk), Red Leicester Cheese (12%) (Cow's Milk, Colour: Annatto Norbixin), Red Onion (3.5%).
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.
- E160b Annatto 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.
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
- E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids 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.
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.
- Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
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.
- 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.
- Sandwiches Products in the category "Sandwiches" are at least group 3.
- Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.
- Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
Among 18 club sandwiches
From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 100% of the club sandwiches here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01320121, last edited 22 August 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 D (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.