Is Sainsbury's Smash Burgers ultra-processed?

Beef hamburgers Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Dextrose
Glucose

17 ingredients
2 additives

Less processed beef hamburgers

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

British Beef Chuck 55%, British Beef Flank 37%, Water, Onion, Breadcrumb (Rice Flour, Gram Flour, Maize Starch (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Dextrose (ultra-processing marker)), Seasoning (Sea Salt (processing marker), Black Pepper, Preservative (processing marker) (Sodium Metabisulphite), Rosemary Extract), Green Tea Extract

Additives: E223 Sodium metabisulphite , E392 Extracts of rosemary

As written on the pack

British Beef Chuck (55%), British Beef Flank (37%), Water, Onion, Gluten Free Breadcrumb (Rice Flour, Gram Flour, Maize Starch, Salt, Dextrose), Seasoning (Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Preservative: Sodium Metabisulphite (Sulphites), Rosemary Extract), Green Tea Extract.

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

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.

Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
Sandwiches Products in the category "Sandwiches" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 17 beef hamburgers

From least to most processed, this one ranks 14th. 65% of the beef hamburgers 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 17 beef hamburgers, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5063334010669, last edited 11 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.