Is Sainsbury's Cream of chicken and mushrooms Soup ultra-processed?

Cream of mushroom soups 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:

Colour
Flavouring
Glucose
Glucose syrup
Milk proteins
Modified starch
and 2 more

46 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score B

Less processed mushrooms and their products

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, Maize Starch (processing marker), Mushroom 4%, Rapeseed Oil, Chicken 2.5%, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Whey Protein (ultra-processing marker) (Cows' Milk), Double Cream (Cows' Milk), Potato Starch (processing marker), Chicken Fat, Salt (processing marker), Yeast Extract, Flavouring (ultra-processing marker) (Barley), Mushroom Extract, Onion, Chicken Stock (Chicken, Chicken, Chicken Fat, Yeast Extract, Sugar (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Lemon Juice, Glucose Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Sage), Barley Malt, Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Paprika Extract (ultra-processing marker)), Carotenes (ultra-processing marker), Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), 7642753 P0175 11.22 ! Allergy advice, Also, not suitable for customers with an allergy to egg due to manufacturing methods Safety (Although every care has been taken to remove all bones), some may remain, Low saturated fat (Enjoy as part of a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Water, Maize Starch, Mushroom (4.0%), Rapeseed Oil, Chicken (2.5%), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Whey Protein Concentrate (Cows' Milk), Double Cream (Cows' Milk) (0.5%), Potato Starch, Chicken Fat, Salt, Yeast Extract, Flavouring (Barley), Mushroom Extract, Onion Powder, Chicken Stock Powder (Chicken Extract, Chicken, Chicken Fat, Yeast Extract, Sugar, Salt, Lemon Juice, Glucose Syrup, Sage), Roasted Barley Malt Extract, Colour:Paprika Extract, Carotenes; Modified Maize Starch, Sugar. 7642753 P0175 11.22 ! Allergy advice: For allergens including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. Also, not suitable for customers with an allergy to egg due to manufacturing methods Safety: Although every care has been taken to remove all bones, some may remain. 90g 50g Low saturated fat: Enjoy as part of a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.

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.
E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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.

Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.

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.

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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 8 cream of mushroom soups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 8th. 100% of the cream of mushroom soups 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 8 cream of mushroom soups, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00121200, 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.