Is Sainsbury's chicken stock cube ultra-processed?

100 g Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring

12 ingredients
1 additive

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Salt (processing marker), Palm Oil, Corn Starch (processing marker), Yeast Extract, Chicken Fat 4%, Flavourings (ultra-processing marker), Chicken 2.5%, Sugar (processing marker), Parsley, Turmeric, Antioxidant (Rosemary Extracts)

Additives: E392 Extracts of rosemary

As written on the pack

Salt, Palm Oil, Corn Starch, Yeast Extract, Chicken Fat (4%), Flavourings (Celery), Chicken Powder (2.5%), Sugar, Parsley, Turmeric, Antioxidant: Rosemary Extracts.

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.

Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01787535, 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.
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.