Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Cheese Thins Crisp & Savoury ultra-processed?

150g Crackers (Appetizers) Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Pack of Tesco Cheese Thins Crisp & Savoury

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 5 additives

Less processed crackers (Appetizers)

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

Wheat Flour, Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin, Palm Oil, Cheese Powder, Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Autolysed Yeast, Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Barley Malt Extract, Whey Powder, Salt, Lactic Acid, Flavouring, including cereals containing gluten, Also

Additives: E270 Lactic acid , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Palm Oil, Cheese Powder (Milk) (10%), Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Autolysed Yeast, Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Barley Malt Extract, Whey Powder (Milk), Salt, Lactic Acid, Flavouring. Allergy Advice For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. Also, may contain sesame seeds.

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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.

  • Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 715 crackers (Appetizers)

From least to most processed, this one ranks 595th. 61% of the crackers (Appetizers) 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 715 crackers (Appetizers), least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5052003477445, last edited 6 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.