Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Finest Chicken, Prawn and Chorizo Paella ultra-processed?

Paella Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Finest Chicken, Prawn and Chorizo Paella

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:

  • 61 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed paella

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

Cooked Rice (Water, Risotto Rice, Chicken, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Tomato Passata, Paprika, Carrot, Corn Starch, Leek, Colour (Curcumin)), Water, Chicken 10% (Chicken Thigh, Garlic Purée, Potato Starch, Salt, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Paprika, Oregano, Black Pepper), King Prawn, Red Pepper, Tomato, Peas, Chorizo Pork Sausage 2.5% (Pork, Pork Fat, Salt, Paprika, Dextrose, Chilli, Malt Vinegar (Barley), Sage, Flavourings, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Preservative (Sodium Nitrite)), Onion, Chicken, Tomato Juice, Cornflour, Water, Garlic Purée, Sherry, Rapeseed Oil, Smoked Paprika, Salt, Paprika, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Bicarbonate), Concentrated Lemon Juice, Black Pepper, Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano, Made using British chicken and British and EU pork

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E250 Sodium nitrite , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Cooked Rice [Water, Risotto Rice, Chicken Extract, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Tomato Passata, Paprika, Carrot, Corn Starch, Leek, Colour (Curcumin)], Water, Cooked Marinated Chicken (10%) [Chicken Thigh, Garlic Purée, Potato Starch, Salt, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Paprika, Oregano, Black Pepper], King Prawn (Crustacean) (5%), Red Pepper, Tomato, Peas, Chorizo Pork Sausage (2.5%) [Pork, Pork Fat, Salt, Paprika, Dextrose, Chilli Powder, Malt Vinegar (Barley), Sage, Flavourings, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Preservative (Sodium Nitrite)], Onion, Chicken Extract, Tomato Juice, Cornflour, Smoked Water, Garlic Purée, Sherry, Rapeseed Oil, Smoked Paprika, Salt, Paprika Flakes, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Bicarbonate), Concentrated Lemon Juice, Black Pepper, Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano. Made using British chicken and British and EU pork.

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.
  • 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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
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.

  • E250 Sodium nitrite 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.
  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 12 paella

From least to most processed, this one ranks 11th. 75% of the paella 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 12 paella, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697761195, 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.