Is Tesco Cheddar ploughman’s no mayo ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- Colour
- Emulsifier
- Gluten
- E150a Plain caramel
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
- E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
- 52 ingredients
- 5 additives
- Nutri-Score D
Less processed cheese sandwiches
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), tomato, mature cheddar cheese (processing marker), water, lettuce, malted wheat flakes, butter (processing marker), sugar (processing marker), carrot, spirit vinegar, wheat bran, onion, swede, cauliflower, salt (processing marker), malt vinegar (barley), wheat gluten (ultra-processing marker), malted barley flour, yeast, emulsifiers (ultra-processing marker) (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (ultra-processing marker), mono- and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (ultra-processing marker)), courgette, cornflour, date, rapeseed oil, gherkin, apple purée, tomato paste, malted wheat flour, colour (ultra-processing marker) (plain caramel (ultra-processing marker)), garlic purée, spices, malted barley extract, rice flour, garlic, onion, concentrated lemon juice, acetic acid, black pepper, flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid), palm oil, including cereals containing gluten, storage keep refrigerated
Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E260 Acetic acid , E300 Ascorbic acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
As written on the pack
wheat flour [wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin], tomato, mature cheddar cheese (milk) (18%), water, lettuce, malted wheat flakes, butter (milk), sugar, carrot, spirit vinegar, wheat bran, onion, swede, cauliflower, salt, malt vinegar (barley), wheat gluten, malted barley flour, yeast, emulsifiers (mono - and di-glycerides of fatty acids, mono - and di-acetyl tartaric acid esters of mono - and di-glycerides of fatty acids), courgette, cornflour, date, rapeseed oil, gherkin, apple purée, tomato paste, malted wheat flour, colour (plain caramel), garlic purée, spices, malted barley extract, rice flour, garlic powder, onion powder, concentrated lemon juice, acetic acid, black pepper, flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid), palm oil. allergy advice for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. suitable for vegetarians storage keep refrigerated.
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.
- E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
- E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
- Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
- Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
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.
- Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
5 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.
Among 20 cheese sandwiches
From least to most processed, this one ranks 12th. 90% of the cheese sandwiches here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 03252147, last edited 29 May 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.