Is Tesco Finest Spanish Chorizo ultra-processed?

Cured sausages Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Dextrose
Glucose

10 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score E

Less processed cured sausages

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

pork, salt (processing marker), paprika 2%, dextrose (ultra-processing marker), garlic, antioxidant, sodium ascorbatel, nutmeg, sodium nitrite (processing marker), oregano

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite

As written on the pack

pork, salt, paprika (2%), dextrose, garlic, antioxidant (sodium ascorbatel, nutmeg, preservative (sodium nitrite), oregano.

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

4 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.
Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
Sausages Products in the category "Sausages" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 99 cured sausages

From least to most processed, this one ranks 39th. 77% of the cured sausages 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 99 cured sausages, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057373620309, last edited 24 August 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.