Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Finest 2 Cod & Parsley Fishcakes ultra-processed?

290 g Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Finest 2 Cod & Parsley Fishcakes

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:

  • 47 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Cod, Potato, Water, Rapeseed Oil, Panko Breadcrumb (Wheat Flour, Yeast, Sugar, Salt), Wheat Flour, Potato, Whole Milk, Double Cream, Wheat Starch, Fish Stock, Water, Fish, Leek, Onion, Lemon, Parsley, Fennel Seed, Black Peppercorns, Durum Wheat Semolina, Sauvignon Blanc White Wine, Parsley, Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese, Cornflour, Onion, Lemon Juice, Salt, Wheat Gluten, Butter, Fish Gelatine, Yeast Extract, Maltodextrin, Black Pepper, Colour (Paprika Extract), White Pepper, Flavourings, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin, including cereals containing gluten, Caution This product can contain minor bones

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E428 Gelatine

As written on the pack

Cod (Fish) (42%), Potato, Water, Rapeseed Oil, Panko Breadcrumb [Wheat Flour, Yeast, Sugar, Salt], Wheat Flour, Dried Potato, Whole Milk, Double Cream (Milk), Wheat Starch, Fish Stock [Water, Fish Extract, Leek, Onion, Lemon, Parsley, Fennel Seed, Black Peppercorns), Durum Wheat Semolina, Sauvignon Blanc White Wine, Parsley, Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese (Milk), Cornflour, Onion, Lemon Juice, Salt, Wheat Gluten, Butter (Milk), Fish Gelatine, Yeast Extract, Maltodextrin, Black Pepper, Colour (Paprika Extract), White Pepper, Flavourings. Wheat Flour contains: Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin. Allergy Advice For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. Caution This product can contain minor bones.

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.
  • E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
  • E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
  • 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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054775579167, 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.