Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Sainsburys Short Crust Mince Pies ultra-processed?

Meat pies Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Sainsburys Short Crust 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:

  • 58 ingredients
  • 6 additives

Less processed meat 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

Pastry, Fortified British Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Margarine (Rapeseed Oil, Palm Oil, Water, Emulsifier (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Sugar, Palm Oil, Water, Butter (Cows' Milk), Rapeseed Oil), Mincemeat 41%, Sultana 22%, Bramley Apple, Glucose Syrup, Raisin 14%, Sugar, Humectan (Vegetable Glycerine), Dextrose, Mixed Peel 3.5%, Orange Peel, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Lemon Peel, Sugar, Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate, Sulphur Dioxide), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Tapioca Starch, Vegetable Oils (Sunflower Oil, Rapeseed Oil in varying proportions), Palm Oil, Mixed Spice (Coriander, Cinnamon, Ginger, Caraway, Nutmeg, Clove), Preservative (Acetic Acid), Cinnamon, Rice Flour, Molasses, Invert Sugar Syrup, Sunflower Oil, Orange Oil

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E220 Sulphur dioxide , E260 Acetic acid , E330 Citric acid , E422 Glycerol , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Pastry (Fortified British Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Margarine (Rapeseed Oil, Palm Oil, Water, Emulsifier (Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Sugar, Palm Oil, Water, Butter (Cows' Milk) (4.5%), Rapeseed Oil), Mincemeat (41%) (Sultana (22%), Bramley Apple, Glucose Syrup, Raisin (14%), Sugar, Humectan: Vegetable Glycerine; Dextrose, Mixed Peel (3.5%) (Orange Peel, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Lemon Peel, Sugar, Preservatives (Potassium Sorbate, Sulphur Dioxide), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Tapioca Starch. Vegetable Oils (Sunflower Oil, Rapeseed Oil in varying proportions), Palm Oil, Mixed Spice (Coriander, Cinnamon, Ginger, Caraway, Nutmeg, Clove), Preservative: Acetic Acid; Ground Cinnamon, Rice Flour, Molasses, Invert Sugar Syrup, Sunflower Oil, Orange Oil.

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.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.
  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 38 meat pies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 36th. 71% of the meat 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 38 meat pies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01066203, 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.