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Is Tesco 4 Cherry Bakewell Tarts ultra-processed?

Pastries Sold in the United Kingdom and the United States

Pack of Tesco 4 Cherry Bakewell Tarts

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:

  • 68 ingredients
  • 21 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed pastries

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

sugar, water, rice flour, palm oil, maize starch, potato starch, strawberry jam 4.5% (glucose syrup, sugar syrup, strawberry purée, humectant (glycerol), acidity regulators (citric acid, trisodium citrate), gelling agent (pectin), flavouring, colour (anthocyanins), sequestrant (calcium chloride), l, glacé cherry half 4.5%, cherry, glucose-fructose syrup, sugar, fruit and vegetable concentrates (carrot, morello cherry, sweet potato, radish, apple), acidity regulator (citric acid)), dextrose, rapeseed oil, maize flour, glucose syrup, egg, humectant (glycerol), emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, sunflower lecithins, polyglycerol esters of fatty acids), palm kernel oil, cornflour, gelling agents (agar, locust bean gum), raising agents (disodium diphosphate, potassium carbonate), stabilisers (xanthan gum, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose), preservative (potassium sorbate), sugar beet fibre, flavourings, acidity regulators (citric acid, stearic acid, potassium hydroxide), colour (titanium dioxide), salt

Additives: E163 Anthocyanins , E171 Titanium dioxide , E202 Potassium sorbate , E322 Lecithins , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E331iii Trisodium citrate , E406 Agar , E410 Locust bean gum , E415 Xanthan gum , E422 Glycerol , E440 Pectins , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E464 Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids , E501 Potassium carbonates , E501i Potassium carbonate , E525 Potassium hydroxide , E570 Fatty acids

As written on the pack

sugar, water, rice flour, palm oil, maize starch, potato starch. strawberry jam (4.5%) [glucose syrup, sugar syrup, strawberry purée concentrate, humectant (glycerol), acidity regulators (citric acid, trisodium citrate), gelling agent (pectin), flavouring. colour (anthocyanins), sequestrant (calcium chloride)l, glacé cherry half (4.5%) [cherry, glucose-fructose syrup, sugar, fruit and vegetable concentrates (carrot, morello cherry, sweet potato, radish, apple), acidity regulator (citric acid)], dextrose, rapeseed oil, maize flour, glucose syrup, pasteurised egg, humectant (glycerol), emulsifiers (mono-and di-glycerides of fatty acids, sunflower lecithins, polyglycerol esters of fatty acids), palm kernel oil, cornflour, gelling agents (agar, locust bean gum), raising agents (disodium diphosphate, potassium carbonate), stabilisers (xanthan gum, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose), preservative (potassium sorbate), sugar beet fibre, flavourings, acidity regulators (citric acid, stearic acid, potassium hydroxide), colour (titanium dioxide), salt.

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.

  • E163 Anthocyanins 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.
  • E171 Titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide is a white pigment.
  • 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.
  • E406 Agar A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
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  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E464 Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose 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.
  • E475 Polyglycerol esters of fatty acids 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.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.
  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.
  • Sequestrant An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.

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.
  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 205 pastries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 204th. 87% of the pastries 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 205 pastries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000462577596, last edited 23 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.