Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Oxtail Soup ultra-processed?

2 x 400g Dehydrated soups Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Oxtail Soup

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 1 additive

Less processed dehydrated soups

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, Tomatoes 17%, Carrot, British Beef 4%, Fortifed Wheat Flour, Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamn, Bitish Oxtail 1.5%, Modified Maize Starch, Yeast Extract, Beef Fat, Onion, Red Wine, Salt, Maltodextrin, Flavouring, Sugar, Barley Malt, Flavouring, Paprika Extract

Additives: E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Water, Tomatoes (17%), Carrot, British Minced Beef (4%), Fortifed Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamn, Bitish Oxtail (1.5%), Modified Maize Starch, Yeast Extract, Beef Fat, Onion Powder, Red Wine, Salt, Maltodextrin, Flavouring, Sugar, Roasted Barley Malt Extract, Flavouring (Celery), Paprika Extract.

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.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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 55 dehydrated soups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 21st. 84% of the dehydrated 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 55 dehydrated soups, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01851076, last edited 4 July 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.