Is Tesco Deli style cheese and pickle 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
- E160b Annatto
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
- E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
- 47 ingredients
- 6 additives
- Nutri-Score C
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Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Water, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Red Leicester Cheese (processing marker) (with Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Annatto Norbixin (ultra-processing marker))), Rye Flour, Spinach, Cabbage, Mature Cheddar Cheese (processing marker) (with Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Annatto Norbixin (ultra-processing marker))), Medium Cheddar Cheese (processing marker), Rapeseed Oil, Onion, Beetroot, Cider Vinegar, Gherkin, Sugar (processing marker), Malted Barley Flour, Spirit Vinegar, Cornflour, Dill, Wheat Gluten (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Mustard, White Wine Vinegar, Pasteurised Egg Yolk, Yeast, Emulsifiers (ultra-processing marker) (mono- and DiGlycerides of Fatty Acids (ultra-processing marker), mono- and DiAcetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of mono- and DiGlycerides of Fatty Acids (ultra-processing marker)), Potato Starch (processing marker), Mustard, Malt Vinegar (Barley), Mustard, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Turmeric, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), Palm Oil
Additives: E160b Annatto , E160bii Annatto norbixin , E260 Acetic acid , E300 Ascorbic acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids
As written on the pack
Water, Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Red Leicester Cheese (with Colour: Annatto Norbixin) (Milk) (7%), Rye Flour, Spinach, Cabbage, Mature Cheddar Cheese (with Colour: Annatto Norbixin) (Milk), Medium Cheddar Cheese (Milk), Rapeseed Oil, Onion, Beetroot, Cider Vinegar, Gherkin, Sugar, Malted Barley Flour, Spirit Vinegar, Cornflour, Dill, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Mustard Flour, White Wine Vinegar, Pasteurised Egg Yolk, Yeast, Emulsifiers (Mono - and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids, Mono - and Di-Acetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono - and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Potato Starch, Mustard Bran, Malt Vinegar (Barley), Mustard Powder, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Ground Turmeric, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), Palm 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.
- E160b Annatto 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.
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
- E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
- 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.
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.
Among 18 club sandwiches
From least to most processed, this one ranks 14th. 100% of the club sandwiches here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697774355, last edited 21 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 C (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.