Is Sainsbury’s Lighter crème fraîche ultra-processed?

300 ml Sour creams Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Cream (Cows' Milk), Thickener (ultra-processing marker) (Tapioca Starch (processing marker)), Stabiliser (Pectin (ultra-processing marker))

Additives: E440 Pectins

As written on the pack

Cream (Cows' Milk), Thickener: Tapioca Starch, Stabiliser: Pectin.

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

1 ingredient that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

From least to most processed, this one ranks 42nd. 37% of the sour creams 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.

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01594591, last edited 27 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 D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.