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Is TESCO finest 2 Smoked Haddock Fishcakes ultra-processed?

290g Frozen breaded fish Sold in the United Kingdom and Germany

Pack of TESCO finest 2 Smoked Haddock 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:

  • 58 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed frozen breaded fish

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

Haddock 26% (Haddock, Salt, Colours (Curcumin, Annatto Norbixin)), Haddock, Potato, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Rapeseed Oil, Potato, Double Cream, Wheat Starch, Whole Milk, Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese, Durum Wheat Semolina, Medium Fat Soft Cheese (Medium Fat Soft Cheese, Modified Maize Starch, Sea Salt, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate)), Chive, Onion, Cornflour, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Butter, Lemon Juice, Fish Gelatine, Worcestershire Sauce (Water, Spirit Vinegar, Molasses, Sugar, Tamarind, Salt, Onion, Garlic, White Pepper, Pimento, Ginger, Paprika, Clove), Olive Oil, Yeast, Sunflower Oil, Parsley, White Pepper, Colour (Paprika Extract), Black Pepper Extract

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160b Annatto , E160bii Annatto norbixin , E160c Paprika extract , E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E202 Potassium sorbate , E428 Gelatine

As written on the pack

Smoked Haddock (26%) [Haddock (Fish), Salt, Colours (Curcumin, Annatto Norbixin)], Haddock (Fish) (14%), Potato, Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Water, Rapeseed Oil, Dried Potato, Double Cream (Milk), Wheat Starch, Whole Milk, Extra Mature Cheddar Cheese (Milk), Durum Wheat Semolina, Medium Fat Soft Cheese [Medium Fat Soft Cheese (Milk), Modified Maize Starch, Sea Salt, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate)], Chive, Onion, Cornflour, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Butter (Milk), Lemon Juice, Fish Gelatine, Worcestershire Sauce [Water, Spirit Vinegar, Molasses, Sugar, Tamarind Concentrate, Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, White Pepper, Pimento, Ginger, Paprika, Clove], Olive Oil, Yeast, Sunflower Oil, Parsley, White Pepper, Colour (Paprika Extract), Black Pepper 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.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
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  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
9 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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 8 frozen breaded fish

From least to most processed, this one ranks 8th. 75% of the frozen breaded fish 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 8 frozen breaded fish, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054775579587, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.