Is Tesco Chilli con carne ultra-processed?

392g Chili con carne Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
Modified starch
E160c Paprika extract

14 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score B

Less processed chili con carne

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

Always right, Tomato Purée, Red Kidney Beans 22%, Beef 15%, Dried Onion, Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Red Pe Green Pepper, Cumin, Salt (processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Cayenne Pe Garlic Powder, Oregano, Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Paprika Extract (ultra-processing marker))

Additives: E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Always right. Tomato Purée, Red Kidney Beans (22%), Beef (15%) Rehydrated Dried Onion, Modified Maize Starch, Red Pe Green Pepper, Cumin Powder, Salt, Sugar, Cayenne Pe Garlic Powder, Oregano, Colour (Paprika Extract).

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.

E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.

Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
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 16 chili con carne

From least to most processed, this one ranks 15th. 69% of the chili con carne 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 16 chili con carne, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057753125844, 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.