Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Bacon ultra-processed?

Bacon Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Bacon

It's processed, but not ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Whole foods combined with:

  • 8 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed bacon

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, Salt, Sugar, Preservatives (Sodium Nitrite, Sodium Nitrate), Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate)

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E251 Sodium nitrate , E301 Sodium ascorbate

As written on the pack

Pork, Salt, Sugar, Preservatives (Sodium Nitrite, Sodium Nitrate), Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate)

What makes it processed

Culinary ingredients

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.

Preservation and traditional processing

Keep food safe or ferment it, like preservatives and cultures. A sign of processing, not ultra-processing.

  • 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.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 109 bacon

From least to most processed, this one ranks 51st. 36% of the bacon 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 109 bacon, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5051277017050, last edited 23 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.