Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Cool Tortilla Chips ultra-processed?

200g Corn chips Sold in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France

Pack of Tesco Cool Tortilla Chips

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:

  • 20 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed corn chips

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

Maize, Sunflower Oil, Whey Powder, Salt, Buttermilk Powder, Onion, Dextrose, Sugar, Tomato, Flavouring, Garlic, Skimmed Milk, Citric Acid, Yeast Extract, White Pepper, Black Pepper, Cheddar Cheese Powder, Cheese Powder, Colour (Paprika Extract)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Maize, Sunflower Oil, Whey Powder (Milk), Salt, Buttermilk Powder (Milk), Onion Powder, Dextrose, Sugar, Tomato Powder, Flavouring (Milk), Garlic Powder, Dried Skimmed Milk, Citric Acid, Yeast Extract, White Pepper, Black Pepper, Cheddar Cheese Powder (Milk), Cheese Powder (Milk), 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
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.

  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 359 corn chips

From least to most processed, this one ranks 282nd. 46% of the corn chips 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 359 corn chips, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000436802402, last edited 13 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.