Is Tesco Custard ultra-processed?

500g Custards and pastry creams 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:

Flavouring

9 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed custards and pastry creams

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

Whole Milk 53%, Whipping Cream, Water, Sugar (processing marker), Cornflour, Tapioca Starch (processing marker), Pasteurised Egg Yolk 1.5%, Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Vanilla Seeds

As written on the pack

Whole Milk (53%), Whipping Cream (Milk) (27%), Water, Sugar, Cornflour, Tapioca Starch, Pasteurised Egg Yolk (1.5%), Flavouring, Vanilla 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.

2 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.

Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 36 custards and pastry creams

From least to most processed, this one ranks 4th. 94% of the custards and pastry creams 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 36 custards and pastry creams, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5050179317305, last edited 16 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 D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.