Is Tesco BBQ Roast Chicken Mini Fillets ultra-processed?

Chicken breasts Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
Flavouring
E160c Paprika extract
E162 Beetroot red

27 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed chicken breasts

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

Chicken Breast Fillet 82%, Honey (processing marker), Brown Sugar (processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Tapioca Starch (processing marker), Tomato, Cornflour, Rice Flour, Salt (processing marker), Onion, Burnt Sugar, Dried Onion, Garlic, Red Pepper, Yeast Extract Powder, Colours (ultra-processing marker) (Paprika Extract (ultra-processing marker), Beetroot Red (ultra-processing marker)), Apple, Cinnamon, Molasses (processing marker), Smoked Salt (processing marker), Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Spirit Vinegar, Smoked Paprika, Black Pepper, Pimento

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E162 Beetroot red

As written on the pack

Chicken Breast Fillet (82%), Honey, Brown Sugar, Sugar, Tapioca Starch, Tomato Powder, Cornflour, Rice Flour, Salt, Onion Powder, Burnt Sugar, Dried Onion, Garlic Powder, Dried Red Pepper, Yeast Extract Powder, Colours (Paprika Extract, Beetroot Red), Apple Powder, Cinnamon, Molasses, Smoked Salt, Flavouring, Spirit Vinegar Powder, Smoked Paprika, Black Pepper, Pimento.

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.
E162 Beetroot red 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.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

4 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.

Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 83 chicken breasts

From least to most processed, this one ranks 74th. 65% of the chicken breasts 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 83 chicken breasts, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697692031, last edited 1 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.