Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Scottish shellfish Cooked Scottish Mussels ultra-processed?

450g Mussels Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Scottish shellfish Cooked Scottish Mussels

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed mussels

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

Mussels 88%, Garlic butter sauce 12%, skimmed milk, vegetable stock (water, Maltodextrin, Yeast extract, Salt, Sugar, Vegetable extracts (Onion, Carrot, Celery), Vegetable oil, Dried tomato, Herbs), Vegetable oil, Modified maize starch, Salt, Soya lecithin, Butter 22%, Garlic Purée, Salt, Parsley

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

Mussels 88%, Garlic butter sauce 12% (Rehydrated skimmed milk, Rehydrated vegetable stock (water, Maltodextrin, Yeast extract, Salt, Sugar, Vegetable extracts (Onion, Carrot, Celery), Vegetable oil, Dried tomato,Herbs), Vegetable oil, Modified maize starch, Salt, Soya lecithin, Butter 22%, Garlic Purée, Salt, Dried Parsley).

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
5 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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • 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 8 mussels

From least to most processed, this one ranks 8th. 25% of the mussels 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 8 mussels, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 20143299, 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.
  • 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.