Is Sainsbury's Smoked Bacon ultra-processed?

1 x 5 ml Smoked bacon Sold in the United Kingdom

It's processed, but not ultra-processed

Whole foods combined with:

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

British pork 87%, water, salt (processing marker), sodium nitrite (processing marker), potassium nitrite (processing marker), sodium ascorbate

Additives: E249 Potassium nitrite , E250 Sodium nitrite

As written on the pack

British pork (87%) water, salt, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrite, sodium ascorbate

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

Keep food safe or ferment it, like preservatives and cultures. A sign of processing, not ultra-processing.

E249 Potassium nitrite A food additive authorised for industrial food production.
E250 Sodium nitrite 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.

From least to most processed, this one ranks 6th. 8% of the smoked bacon 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.

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01704884, last edited 31 August 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.