Is Sealord Tuna Tomato & Basil ultra-processed?

185 g Canned tunas Sold in New Zealand and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
Thickener
E1422 Acetylated distarch adipate
E412 Guar gum

16 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed canned tunas

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

Tuna, Water, Tomato 10%, Soybean Oil (processing marker), Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Sugar (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Thickeners (ultra-processing marker) (1422, 412), Basil 0.2%, Acidity Regulator (330), Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Paprika Oleoresin)

Additives: E1422 Acetylated distarch adipate , E330 Citric acid , E412 Guar gum

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E1422 Acetylated distarch adipate, E412 Guar gum.

As written on the pack

Tuna (Fish) (54%), Water, Tomato (10%), Soybean Oil, Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Sugar, Salt, Thickeners (1422, 412), Basil (0.2%), Acidity Regulator (330), Colour (Paprika Oleoresin) Contains Fish, Soy.

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.

E1422 Acetylated distarch adipate Acetylated distarch adipate is a chemically modified starch that holds up to heating, freezing and acidity, used to thicken sauces and fillings.
E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.

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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 157 canned tunas

From least to most processed, this one ranks 153rd. 22% of the canned tunas 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 157 canned tunas, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9415022030798, last edited 13 May 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.