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Is Specially selected- Aldi Chicken, Ham And Hock Leek Pies ultra-processed?

2 x 200 g Frozen pizzas and pies Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Specially selected- Aldi Chicken, Ham And Hock Leek Pies

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:

  • 50 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed frozen pizzas and pies

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

Water, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Chicken with Added Water 23% (Chicken, Water, Corn Starch, Salt), Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Leeks 4%, Ham Hock with Added Water 2.5% (Pork Leg, Water, Salt, Dextrose, Stabilisers (Diphosphates), Triphosphates, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Preservative (Sodium Nitrate)), Whipping Cream 2.5%, Seasoning (Whole Milk Powder, Flavouring, Salt, Onion, Yeast Extract, White Pepper, Garlic, Dried Rosemary, Parsley), Mature Cheddar Cheese, Modified Maize Starch, Onion, Salt, Emulsifier (mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Parsley, Dried Glucose Syrup, Cornflour, Milk Protein, Colour (Carotenes)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E251 Sodium nitrate , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E450 Diphosphates , E451 Triphosphates , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Water, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Chicken with Added Water 23% (Chicken, Water, Corn Starch, Salt), Palm Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Leeks 4%, Ham Hock with Added Water 2.5% (Pork Leg, Water, Salt, Dextrose, Stabilisers: Diphosphates, Triphosphates; Antioxidant: Sodium Ascorbate; Preservative: Sodium Nitrate), Whipping Cream 2.5% (Milk), Seasoning (Whole Milk Powder, Flavouring, Salt, Onion Powder, Yeast Extract, Ground White Pepper, Garlic Powder, Dried Rosemary, Dried Parsley), Mature Cheddar Cheese (Milk), Modified Maize Starch, Onion, Salt, Emulsifier: Mono - and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids; Dried Parsley, Dried Glucose Syrup, Cornflour, Milk Protein, Colour: Carotenes.

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E451 Triphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
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  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
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.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 233 frozen pizzas and pies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 232nd. 85% of the frozen pizzas and pies 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 233 frozen pizzas and pies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600199986, 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.