Is Tesco Ham on the Bone ultra-processed?

Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E451 Triphosphates

11 ingredients
5 additives
Nutri-Score C

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Pork, Salt (processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Stabilisers (Potassium Triphosphate (ultra-processing marker), Pentasodium Triphosphate (ultra-processing marker)), Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Preservative (processing marker) (Sodium Nitrite (processing marker)), Cane Molasses (processing marker)

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E451 Triphosphates , E451i Pentasodium triphosphate , E451ii Pentapotassium triphosphate

As written on the pack

Pork, Salt, Sugar, Stabilisers (Potassium Triphosphate, Pentasodium Triphosphate), Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Preservative (Sodium Nitrite), Cane Molasses.

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.

E451 Triphosphates 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.

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.
Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697691188, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.