Is Tesco Large Seeded Burger Buns ultra-processed?

4 Hamburger buns Sold in the United Kingdom and the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Dextrose
Glucose
E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

17 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed hamburger buns

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

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Sesame Seed 3%, Palm Oil, Dextrose (ultra-processing marker), Yeast, Salt (processing marker), Soya Flour, Calcium Propionate, mono- and DiAcetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of mono- and DiGlycerides of Fatty Acids (ultra-processing marker), Ascorbic Acid, L-Cysteine

Additives: E282 Calcium propionate , E300 Ascorbic acid , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E920 L-cysteine

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Sesame Seed (3%), Palm Oil, Dextrose, Yeast, Salt, Soya Flour, Preservative (Calcium Propionate), Emulsifier (Mono - and Di-Acetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono - and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Flour Treatment Agents (Ascorbic Acid, L-Cysteine).

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.

E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids 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.

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.

1 ingredient that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 55 hamburger buns

From least to most processed, this one ranks 17th. 96% of the hamburger buns 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 55 hamburger buns, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000358240344, last edited 20 September 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.