Is Tesco 10 Cumberland pork sausages ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 27 ingredients
- 6 additives
Less processed sausages
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
pork 90%, water, rice flour, salt (processing marker), black pepper, sage, white pepper, mace, preservative (processing marker) (sodium metabisulphite), dextrose (ultra-processing marker), bamboo fibre (ultra-processing marker), stabilisers (tetrasodium diphosphate (ultra-processing marker), disodium diphosphate (ultra-processing marker)), parsley, emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (glyceryl monostearate (ultra-processing marker)), caramelised sugar syrup (processing marker), paprika extract (ultra-processing marker), made using british pork, filled into u, k, and non-u, k, natural casings, when grilled according to instructions free
Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E223 Sodium metabisulphite , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E450iii Tetrasodium diphosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
As written on the pack
pork (90%), water, rice flour, salt, black pepper, sage, white pepper, mace, preservative (sodium metabisulphite), dextrose, bamboo fibre, stabilisers (tetrasodium diphosphate, disodium diphosphate), dried parsley, emulsifier (glyceryl monostearate), caramelised sugar syrup, paprika extract, made using british pork, filled into u,k, and non-u,k, natural casings, allergy advice for allergens, see ingredients in bold, **when grilled according to instructions free
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.
- E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
- Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
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.
- Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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.
- Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
- Sausages Products in the category "Sausages" are at least group 3.
- Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Among 337 sausages
From least to most processed, this one ranks 321st. 80% of the sausages here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5053947861215, last edited 28 January 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.
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.