Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Mexican inspired chicken & grains salad ultra-processed?

265 g Prepared salads Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Mexican inspired chicken & grains salad

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:

  • 84 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed prepared salads

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

Couscous (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Fajita Spiced Chicken 15% (Chicken Breast, Corn Starch, Garlic, Salt, Sugar, Oregano, Onion, Paprika, Tomato, Cumin, Parsley, Chilli, Paprika Extract, Black Pepper, Thyme, Sunflower Oil, Turmeric), Avocado Dressing 11% (Yogurt, Avocado, Water, Rapeseed Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Cornflour, Spirit Vinegar, Salt, Parsley, Pasteurised Egg Yolk, Sugar, Garlic Purée, Black Pepper, Antioxidants (Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid), Mustard, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Onion), Black Turtle Beans, Sweetcorn, Red Onion (Red Onion, Cider Vinegar, White Wine Vinegar, Sugar, Water, Salt), Bulgur Wheat (Water, Bulgur Wheat), Red Quinoa (Water, Red Quinoa), Apollo Lettuce, Lollo Rosso, Romaine Lettuce, Chipotle Dressing (Tomato, Water, Onion, Red Chilli Purée, Tomato Paste, Muscovado Sugar, Molasses, Rapeseed Oil, Chilli, Garlic Purée, Salt, Chipotle Chilli, Smoked Paprika, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Chilli, Stabiliser (Guar Gum), Colours (Plain Caramel, Paprika Extract)), Parsley, Salt

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E160c Paprika extract , E260 Acetic acid , E300 Ascorbic acid , E330 Citric acid , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Cooked Couscous [Water, Durum Wheat Semolina], Fajita Spiced Chicken (15%) [Chicken Breast, Corn Starch, Garlic Powder, Salt, Sugar, Oregano, Onion Powder, Paprika, Tomato Powder, Cumin, Parsley, Chilli, Paprika Extract, Black Pepper, Thyme, Sunflower Oil, Turmeric], Avocado Dressing (11%) [Yogurt (Milk), Avocado, Water, Rapeseed Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Cornflour, Spirit Vinegar, Salt, Parsley, Pasteurised Egg Yolk, Sugar, Garlic Purée, Black Pepper, Antioxidants (Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid), Mustard Flour, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Onion Powder], Black Turtle Beans, Sweetcorn, Pickled Red Onion [Red Onion, Cider Vinegar, White Wine Vinegar, Sugar, Water, Salt], Cooked Bulgur Wheat [Water, Bulgur Wheat], Cooked Red Quinoa [Water, Red Quinoa], Apollo Lettuce, Lollo Rosso, Romaine Lettuce, Chipotle Dressing [Tomato, Water, Onion, Red Chilli Purée, Tomato Paste, Muscovado Sugar, Molasses, Rapeseed Oil, Chilli Powder, Garlic Purée, Salt, Chipotle Chilli, Smoked Paprika, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Chilli, Stabiliser (Guar Gum), Colours (Plain Caramel, Paprika Extract)], Parsley, Salt.

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 224 prepared salads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 207th. 60% of the prepared salads 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 224 prepared salads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057753935542, 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 A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.