Is Sainsbury's Pimento stuffed olives with Spanish cheese ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 30 ingredients
- 6 additives
- Nutri-Score C
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Pimento Stuffed Olives 69% (Green Olives, Pimento Paste (Water, Red Pepper, Thickener (ultra-processing marker) (Guar Gum (ultra-processing marker)), Firming Agent (ultra-processing marker) (Calcium Chloride), Paprika, Stabiliser (Sodium Alginate (ultra-processing marker))), Salt (processing marker), Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid), Lactic Acid, Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid)), Manchego Cheese 20% (Sheeps' Milk), Vegetable Oil (processing marker) (Sunflower Vegetable Oil, Rapeseed Vegetable Oil), Parsley, Chilli, see ingredients in bold Safety (Although every care has been taken to remove olive stones), some may remain, RINSE POT Recycle FILM Do Not Recycle Packed in the UK for Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, London EC1NOUT Not for Ell Careline 0800 636262 7088045 W0098 10.24
Additives: E270 Lactic acid , E300 Ascorbic acid , E330 Citric acid , E401 Sodium alginate , E412 Guar gum , E509 Calcium chloride
As written on the pack
Pimento Stuffed Olives (69%) (Green Olives, Pimento Paste (Water, Red Pepper, Thickener: Guar Gum; Firming Agent: Calcium Chloride; Paprika, Stabiliser: Sodium Alginate), Salt, Acidity Regulators: Citric Acid, Lactic Acid; Antioxidant: Ascorbic Acid), Manchego Cheese (20%) (Sheeps' Milk), Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Parsley, Chilli Flakes. Allergy advice: For allergens, see ingredients in bold Safety: Although every care has been taken to remove olive stones, some may remain. RINSE POT Recycle FILM Do Not Recycle Packed in the UK for Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, London EC1NOUT Not for Ell Careline 0800 636262 7088045 W0098 10.24
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.
- E401 Sodium alginate A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
- E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
- Firming agent Firming agents keep fruit and vegetable tissue crisp or firm through processing and storage.
- Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.
2 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.
- Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01678932, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.