Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Buttermilk Chicken Tenders ultra-processed?

Chicken breasts Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Buttermilk Chicken Tenders

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:

  • 42 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

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

Place on a baking day Frozen (16 mins, Based on minimum 3.8 litre capacity layer, Turn every 3-4 mins to ensure even cooking, Caution Do not overfill the all y Always wash hands), utensils and surfaces after contact with raw meat, Important cooking, All appliances vary, these are guidelines only, Check food is cooked th when pierced with a thin skewer before serving Check food is piping hot th there is no raw meat inside, Tesco recommends that meat products are Chicken Breast 68%, Water, Wheat Flour, Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin, Rapeseed Oil, Durum Wheat Semolina, Wheat Gluten, Wheat Starch, Rice Flour, Cornflour, Flavourings, Salt, Sugar, Onion, Garlic, Yeast, Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Buttermilk Powder, Lactic Acid, Black Pepper, Dextrose, Black Pepper Extract, Colour (Paprika Extract), Turmeric Extract, Made using British and EU chicken

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract , E270 Lactic acid , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Place on a baking day Frozen: 16 mins. Based on minimum 3.8 litre capacity layer. Turn every 3-4 mins to ensure even cooking. Caution Do not overfill the all y Always wash hands, utensils and surfaces after contact with raw meat. Important cooking. All appliances vary, these are guidelines only. Check food is cooked th when pierced with a thin skewer before serving Check food is piping hot th there is no raw meat inside. Tesco recommends that meat products are Chicken Breast (68%), Water, Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Rapeseed Oil, Durum Wheat Semolina, Wheat Gluten, Wheat Starch, Rice Flour, Cornflour, Flavourings, Salt, Sugar, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Yeast, Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Buttermilk Powder, Lactic Acid, Black Pepper, Dextrose, Black Pepper Extract, Colour (Paprika Extract), Turmeric Extract. Made using British and EU chicken. Allergy Advice

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.

  • E100 Curcumin 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.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • 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.

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.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
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.

  • 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 82nd. 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 5059697684180, 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.