Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Mixed Vegetable Curry ultra-processed?

392g Microwave meals Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Mixed Vegetable Curry

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:

  • 25 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed microwave meals

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

Vegetables in varying proportions 52% (Carrot, Potato, Onion, Green Bean, Garden Peas), Water, Red Lentils, Tomato, Rapeseed Oil, Tomato Juice, Tomato Purée, Sugar, Modified Maize Starch, Spices, Maize Starch, Salt, Coriander Leaf, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Ginger, Garlic, Tamarind Paste, Colour (Aigal Carotenes), Oregano

Additives: E160a Carotene

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E160a Carotene.

As written on the pack

Vegetables in varying proportions (52%) (Carrot, Potato, Onion, Green Bean, Garden Peas), Water, Red Lentils, Tomato, Rapeseed Oil, Tomato Juice, Tomato Purée, Sugar, Modified Maize Starch, Spices, Maize Starch, Salt, Coriander Leaf, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Ginger, Garlic Powder, Tamarind Paste, Colour (Aigal Carotenes), Oregano.

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.
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.

  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 350 microwave meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 215th. 72% of the microwave meals 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 350 microwave meals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697729553, 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.