Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Mince Pies ultra-processed?

335g Pies Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Mince Pies

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:

  • 61 ingredients
  • 10 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed pies

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

Mincemeat Filling 47%, Apple Purée 19% (Apple Purée, Preservatives, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Metabisulphite), Sugar, Raisins 15%, Sultanas 15%, Glucose Syrup, Currants 8%, Humectant, Vegetable Glycerine, Dextrose, Mixed Peel (Orange Peel, Glucose~Fructose Syrup, Sugar, Lemon Peel, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Preservative), Rapeseed Oil, Vegetable Suet (Vegetable Oils (Palm Vegetable Oils, Sunflower Vegetable Oils), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Treacle, Mixed Spice (Coriander, Cassia, Ginger, Nutmeg, Caraway, Clove), Acid (Acetic Acid), Flavouring), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Vegetable Oils (Palm Vegetable Oils, Rapeseed Vegetable Oils), Glucose syrup, Butter 6% (Cows' Milk), Sugar, Salt, Raising Agents, Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E220 Sulphur dioxide , E223 Sodium metabisulphite , E260 Acetic acid , E330 Citric acid , E422 Glycerol , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Mincemeat Filling 47% (Apple Purée 19% (Apple Purée, Preservatives Sulphur Dioxide, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Metabisulphite), Sugar, Raisins 15%, Sultanas 15%, Glucose Syrup, Currants 8%, Humectant; Vegetable Glycerine, Dextrose, Candied Mixed Peel (Orange Peel, Glucose~Fructose Syrup, Sugar, Lemon Peel, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid, Preservative: Sulphur Dioxide), Rapeseed Oil, Vegetable Suet (Vegetable Oils (Palm, Sunflower), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Treacle, Mixed Spice (Coriander, Cassia, Ginger, Nutmeg, Caraway, Clove), Acid: Acetic Acid, Flavouring), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Vegetable Oils (Palm, Rapeseed), Glucose syrup, Butter (Cows’ Milk) 6%, Sugar, Salt, Raising Agents; 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.

  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
7 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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 101 pies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 89th. 76% of the pies 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 101 pies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00111652, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.