Is Sainsbury's Stonebaked Pepperoni Hand Stretched Pizza ultra-processed?

Pepperoni pizzas Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Stonebaked Pepperoni Hand Stretched Pizza

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:

  • 40 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed pepperoni pizzas

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

Wheat flour (calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), pepperoni 14%, pork, pork fat, pasta (durum wheat, semolina, water), salt (processing marker), dextrose (ultra-processing marker), smoke flavouring (ultra-processing marker), rice flour, paprika extract (ultra-processing marker), pepper extract, rosemary extract, sodium ascorbate, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, white pepper, ginger extract, sodium nitrate (processing marker), water, tomato, mozzarella cheese (processing marker), cheddar cheese (processing marker), semolina, tomato puree, extra virgin olive oil (processing marker) 1%, yeast, malted wheat flour, salt (processing marker), sugar (processing marker), basil, deactivated yeast, black pepper

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E251 Sodium nitrate , E392 Extracts of rosemary

As written on the pack

Wheat flour (calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), pepperoni (14%), pork, pork fat, pasta (durum wheat, semolina, water), salt, dextrose, smoke flavouring, rice flour, paprika extract, pepper extract, rosemary extract, sodium ascorbate, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, white pepper, ginger extract, sodium nitrate, water, tomato, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, semolina, tomato puree, extra virgin olive oil (1%), yeast, malted wheat flour, salt, sugar, basil, deactivated yeast, black pepper

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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.
6 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.

  • E251 Sodium nitrate 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.
  • 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 34 pepperoni pizzas

From least to most processed, this one ranks 20th. 94% of the pepperoni pizzas 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 34 pepperoni pizzas, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00181525, last edited 12 September 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.