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Is Tesco basil pesto and semi-dried tomato pasta ultra-processed?

225g Pasta dishes Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Tesco basil pesto and semi-dried tomato pasta

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:

  • 42 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Cooked Pasta (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Basil Pesto (Medium Fat Hard Cheese, Basil, Sunflower Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Garlic Purée, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid)), Tomatoes 8%, Tomato, Sunflower Oil, Salt, Garlic, Oreganol, Spinach, Rapeseed Oil, Spirit Vinegar, Basil, Pecorino Medium Fat Hard Cheese, Sugar, Malt Vinegar (Barley), White Wine Vinegar, Cornflour, Mustard Seeds, Salt, Mustard, Black Pepper, Parsley, Garlic Purée, Tarragon Oil, Thyme, Clove, Nutmeg, Pimento, Turmeric

Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Cooked Pasta [Water, Durum Wheat Semolina], Basil Pesto [Medium Fat Hard Cheese (Milk), Basil, Sunflower Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Garlic Purée, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid)], Marinated Semi Dried Tomatoes (8%) [Tomato, Sunflower Oil, Salt, Garlic, Oreganol, Spinach, Rapeseed Oil, Spirit Vinegar, Basil, Pecorino Medium Fat Hard Cheese (Milk), Sugar, Malt Vinegar (Barley), White Wine Vinegar, Cornflour, Mustard Seeds, Salt, Mustard Flour, Black Pepper, Parsley, Garlic Purée, Tarragon Oil, Thyme, Clove, Nutmeg, Ground Pimento, Ground Turmeric.

What makes it processed

Processed ingredients

Processed foods in their own right, such as cheese or milk powder.

  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

Category rules

Open Food Facts puts every product in this category in at least this group.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 544 pasta dishes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 141st. 72% of the pasta dishes 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 544 pasta dishes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054268103923, last edited 19 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.