Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Nacho Cheese ultra-processed?

280 g Chicken preparations Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Nacho Cheese

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed chicken preparations

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

Water, rapeseed oil, cheddar cheese, soured cream, medium fat soft cheese, modified maize starch, whey powder, acidity regulator (lactic acid), salt, pasteurised egg yolk, dried garlic, chilli, stabiliser (xanthan gum), cumin, onion, paprika, red pepper, preservative (potassium sorbate), colour (paprika extract), oregano, chillies, yeast extract, flavouring

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E202 Potassium sorbate , E270 Lactic acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Water, rapeseed oil, cheddar cheese (milk) (6%), soured cream (milk), medium fat soft cheese (milk) (4.5%), modified maize starch, whey powder (milk), acidity regulator (lactic acid), salt, pasteurised egg yolk, dried garlic, chilli powder, stabiliser (xanthan gum), cumin, onion powder, paprika, dried red pepper, preservative (potassium sorbate), colour (paprika extract), oregano, dried chillies, yeast extract, flavouring.

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.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • 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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.

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.

  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate 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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 187 chicken preparations

From least to most processed, this one ranks 170th. 79% of the chicken preparations 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 187 chicken preparations, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697691959, 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.