Is Tesco Coronation Chicken Sandwich 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
- E100 Curcumin
- E150a Plain caramel
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
- 39 ingredients
- 4 additives
- Nutri-Score A
Less processed poultry sandwiches
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Chicken Breast 24%, Water, Rapeseed Oil, Spinach, Sultanas, Cornflour, Kalonji Seeds, Salt (processing marker), Egg, Sugar (processing marker), Pasteurised Egg Yolk, Yeast, Spices, Spirit Vinegar, Apricot Purée, Onion, Wheat Gluten (ultra-processing marker), Apricot Juice, Emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (mono- and DiGlycerides of Fatty Acids (ultra-processing marker)), Concentrated Lemon Juice, Black Pepper, Garlic, Colours (ultra-processing marker) (Turmeric Extract (ultra-processing marker), Plain Caramel (ultra-processing marker)), Tomato, Leek, Palm Oil, Mustard, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), Sunflower Oil (processing marker)
Additives: E100 Curcumin , E150a Plain caramel , E300 Ascorbic acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
As written on the pack
Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron. Niacin, Thiamin], Chicken Breast (24%), Water, Rapeseed Oil. Spinach, Sultanas, Cornflour, Kalonji Seeds, Salt, Pasteurised Egg. Sugar, Pasteurised Egg Yolk, Yeast, Spices, Spirit Vinegar, Apricot Purée, Onion Powder, Wheat Gluten, Concentrated Apricot Juice, Emulsifier (Mono - and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids). Concentrated Lemon Juice, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Colours (Turmeric Extract, Plain Caramel), Tomato Powder. Leek Extract, Palm Oil, Mustard Powder, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), Sunflower Oil.
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.
- E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- Sandwiches Products in the category "Sandwiches" are at least group 3.
Among 16 chicken sandwiches
From least to most processed, this one ranks 12th. 94% of the chicken sandwiches here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 03275351, last edited 18 June 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 A (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.