Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Golden Vegetable Rice ultra-processed?

Precooked rices Sold in the United Kingdom

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:

  • 22 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed precooked rices

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

Long Grain Rice 83%, Mixed Vegetables 12% (Carrots, Red Pepper, Sweetcorn, Peas), Vegetable Oil (Sunflower Vegetable Oil, Rapeseed Vegetable Oil), Onion Powder, Yeast Extract, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Turmeric Extract, Guar Gum, Black Pepper, Salt, Maltodextrin, Carrot Powder, Rapeseed Oil, Flavourings, Turmeric

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

Cooked Long Grain Rice (83%), Mixed Vegetables (12%) (Carrots, Red Pepper, Sweetcorn, Peas), Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Onion Powder, Yeast Extract, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Turmeric Extract, Stabiliser: Guar Gum; Black Pepper, Salt, Maltodextrin, Carrot Powder, Rapeseed Oil, Flavourings, Turmeric

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.

  • E100 Curcumin 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.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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.
  • 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 31 precooked rices

From least to most processed, this one ranks 27th. 58% of the precooked rices 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 31 precooked rices, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5063334012649, last edited 8 August 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • 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.