Is Sarsons Sweet Pickled Onions ultra-processed?

460g Pickled onions 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:

Firming agent
Sweetener
E954 Saccharin and its salts

11 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed pickled onions

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

Silverskin Onions, Water, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Firming Agent (ultra-processing marker) (Calcium Chloride), Sweetener (ultra-processing marker) (Sodium Saccharin (ultra-processing marker)), Preservative (processing marker) (Sodium Metabisulphite)

Additives: E223 Sodium metabisulphite , E509 Calcium chloride , E954 Saccharin and its salts

As written on the pack

Silverskin Onions, Water, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Firming Agent (Calcium Chloride), Sweetener (Sodium Saccharin), Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite).

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.

E954 Saccharin and its salts Sweeteners are substances used to impart a sweet taste to foods or in table-top sweeteners.
Firming agent Firming agents keep fruit and vegetable tissue crisp or firm through processing and storage.
Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.

3 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 13 pickled onions

From least to most processed, this one ranks 13th. 54% of the pickled onions 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 13 pickled onions, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5060336502963, last edited 15 April 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.