Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Roasted Red Pepper Pesto ultra-processed?

190g Pestos Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

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:

  • 30 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed pestos

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

Red Peppers 47%, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Refined Soyabean, Corn, Oil (Rapeseed Oil, Olive Oil)), Red Pepper 8%, Basil 6%, Medium Fat Hard Cheese 4% (Medium Fat Hard Cheese (Cows' Milk), Preservative (Egg Lysozyme)), Vegetable Fibre, Almonds 1.8%, Sugar, Salt, Rice Flour, Paprika Extract, Paprika, Acidity Regulators (Lactic Acid, Citric Acid), Colour (Beetroot Red), Garlic, Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid)

Additives: E1105 Lysozyme , E160c Paprika extract , E162 Beetroot red , E270 Lactic acid , E300 Ascorbic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Red Peppers (47%), Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Refined Soyabean, Corn, Rapeseed or Olive Oil), Roasted and Grilled Red Pepper (8%), Basil (6%), Medium Fat Hard Cheese (4%) (Medium Fat Hard Cheese (Cows' Milk), Preservative: Egg Lysozyme), Vegetable Fibre, Almonds (1.8%), Sugar, Salt, Rice Flour, Paprika Extract, Paprika, Acidity Regulators: Lactic Acid and Citric Acid; Colour: Beetroot Red; Garlic Powder, Antioxidant: Ascorbic Acid.

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.
  • E162 Beetroot red Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

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.

  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 134 pestos

From least to most processed, this one ranks 131st. 51% of the pestos 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 134 pestos, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01808377, last edited 17 May 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.