Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco British Beef Meatballs ultra-processed?

336g Beef preparations Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco British 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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score D

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 86%, Water, Rice Flour, Salt, Onion, Dextrose, Sugar, Yeast Extract, Black Pepper, Sunflower Oil, Paprika, Bamboo Fibre, Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite), White Pepper, Bay, Black Pepper Extract, Flavouring

Additives: E223 Sodium metabisulphite

As written on the pack

Beef 86%, Water, Rice Flour, Salt, Onion Powder, Dextrose, Sugar, Yeast Extract, Black Pepper, Sunflower Oil, Paprika, Bamboo Fibre, Preservative (Sodium Metabisulphite), White Pepper, Bay, Black Pepper Extract, Flavouring.

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.

  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.
  • 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.
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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 40 beef preparations

From least to most processed, this one ranks 39th. 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 5053526772994, 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.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.