Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Beef meatballs ultra-processed?

Beef preparations Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Beef meatballs

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:

  • 14 ingredients
  • 1 additive

Less processed beef preparations

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

Beef 94%, Rice Flour, Potato, Water, Dried Onion, Sea Salt, Spices, Sugar, Dextrose, Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite), Salt, Black Pepper, Made using British beef

Additives: E223 Sodium metabisulphite

As written on the pack

Beef (94%), Rice Flour, Dried Potato, Water, Dried Onion, Sea Salt, Spices, Sugar, Dextrose, Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite), Salt, Black Pepper. Made using British beef.

What makes it ultra-processed

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.
3 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.

  • 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 40 beef preparations

From least to most processed, this one ranks 31st. 45% of the beef preparations 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 40 beef preparations, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054402524966, last edited 27 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.