Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Mixed Olives ultra-processed?

Olives Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Mixed Olives

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:

  • 22 ingredients
  • 5 additives

Less processed olives

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

Green Olives, Black Olives, Mature Cheddar Cheese, Pimento Paste (Water, Pimento, Thickeners (Sodium Alginate, Guar Gum), Firming Agent (Calcium Chloride), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)), Red Pepper, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Parsley, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Red Wine Vinegar, Sugar, Stabiliser (Ferrous Gluconate)

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E401 Sodium alginate , E412 Guar gum , E509 Calcium chloride , E579 Iron gluconate

As written on the pack

Green Olives, Black Olives, Mature Cheddar Cheese (Milk) (7%), Pimento Paste [Water, Pimento, Thickeners (Sodium Alginate, Guar Gum), Firming Agent (Calcium Chloride), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)], Red Pepper, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Parsley, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Red Wine Vinegar, Sugar, Stabiliser (Ferrous Gluconate).

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.

  • E401 Sodium alginate A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • Firming agent Firming agents keep fruit and vegetable tissue crisp or firm through processing and storage.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.
3 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 123 olives

From least to most processed, this one ranks 121st. 11% of the olives 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 123 olives, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697707346, last edited 12 April 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.