Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Potato & leek soup ultra-processed?

Soups Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Potato & leek 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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed 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, Potato 23%, Leek 12%, Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Maize Starch, Skimmed Cows' Milk Powder, Double Cream (Cows' Milk), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sea Salt, Emulsifier (Polyphosphates), Sugar, Black Pepper, B0607 01.22 7569428 ! Allergy advice

Additives: E452 Polyphosphates

As written on the pack

Water, Potato (23%), Leek (12%), Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Maize Starch, Skimmed Cows' Milk Powder, Double Cream (Cows' Milk), Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Sea Salt, Emulsifier: Polyphosphates; Sugar, Black Pepper. B0607 01.22 7569428 ! Allergy advice: For allergens, including cereals containing gluten see ingredients in bold.

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.

  • E452 Polyphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
5 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.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 722 soups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 421st. 63% of the 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 722 soups, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01845068, 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.