Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco 16 Crumbed Ham Slice ultra-processed?

Hams Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco 16 Crumbed Ham Slice

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:

  • 25 ingredients
  • 10 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed hams

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

Pork 86%, Water, Salt, Breadcrumbs (Rice Flour, Cornflour, Salt, Dextrose, Rapeseed Oil, Colours (Curcumin, Paprika Extract)), Stabilisers (Potassium Triphosphate, Sodium Triphosphate, Tetrapotassium Diphosphate), Mineral Sea Salt, Pork Gelatine, Honey, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Brown Sugar, Preservative (Sodium Nitrite), Caramelised Sugar Syrup

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract , E250 Sodium nitrite , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E428 Gelatine , E450 Diphosphates , E450v Tetrapotassium diphosphate , E451 Triphosphates , E451i Pentasodium triphosphate , E451ii Pentapotassium triphosphate

As written on the pack

Pork (86%), Water, Salt, Gluten Free Breadcrumbs [Rice Flour, Cornflour, Salt, Dextrose, Rapeseed Oil, Colours (Curcumin, Paprika Extract)], Stabilisers (Potassium Triphosphate, Sodium Triphosphate, Tetrapotassium Diphosphate), Mineral Sea Salt, Pork Gelatine, Honey, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Brown Sugar, Preservative (Sodium Nitrite), Caramelised Sugar Syrup

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
  • 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.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

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.
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.

  • E250 Sodium nitrite 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.
  • Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • 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 223 hams

From least to most processed, this one ranks 217th. 65% of the hams 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 223 hams, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057967620746, last edited 25 July 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.