Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Lightly Coated Sweet Potato Fries ultra-processed?

Chips and fries Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Lightly Coated Sweet Potato Fries

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:

  • 10 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed chips and fries

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

sweet potato 82%, sunflower oil 9%, maize starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, rice flour, maltodextrin, salt, disodium diphosphate, sodium hydrogen carbonate

Additives: E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

sweet potato (82%), sunflower oil (9%), maize starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, rice flour, maltodextrin, salt, disodium diphosphate, sodium hydrogen carbonate,

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.

  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.

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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,586 chips and fries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 930th. 65% of the chips and fries 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 1,586 chips and fries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00253574, last edited 26 April 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.