Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Christmas pudding ultra-processed?

400 g Puddings Sold in the United Kingdom and Luxembourg

Pack of Tesco Christmas pudding

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:

  • 37 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed puddings

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

Vine Fruits (Raisins, Sultanas), Sugar, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin, Cider 9%, Vegetable Suet, Palm Oil, Rice Flour, Sunflower Oill, Brandy 4.5%, Humectant (Glycerol), Single Cream, Inulin, Citrus, Orange Peel, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Lemon Peel, Sugar, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)), Treacle, Orange Peel, Concentrated Orange Juice, Molasses, Lemon Peel, Mixed Spice, Salt, Orange Oil, Lemon Oil, Yeast

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E422 Glycerol

As written on the pack

Vine Fruits [Raisins. Sultanas], Sugar, Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Cider (9%). Vegetable Suet [Palm Oil, Rice Flour, Sunflower Oill. Brandy (4.5%), Humectant (Glycerol). Single Cream (Milk), Inulin, Candied Citrus Peel [Orange Peel, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Lemon Peel, Sugar, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)], Treacle, Orange Peel, Concentrated Orange Juice, Molasses, Lemon Peel, Mixed Spice, Salt. Orange Oil, Lemon Oil. Yeast.

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.

  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • Humectant Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.

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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 95 puddings

From least to most processed, this one ranks 61st. 92% of the puddings 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 95 puddings, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057967213801, 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.