Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Pea & Ham Soup ultra-processed?

Soups Sold in the United Kingdom

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:

  • 26 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed soups

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, peas 35% (garden peas, marrowfat peas), onion, ham 3% (pork, water, salt, milk proteins, milk sugar, milk mineral concentrate, sodium triphosphate, sodium nitrite), modified maize starch, pea flour, salt, yeast extract, sugar, leek, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, flavourings, carotenes, spinach powder

Additives: E160a Carotene , E250 Sodium nitrite , E451 Triphosphates , E451i Pentasodium triphosphate

As written on the pack

water, peas (35%) (garden peas, marrowfat peas), onion, smoked ham (3%) [pork, water, salt, milk proteins, milk sugar, milk mineral concentrate, stabiliser (sodium triphosphate), preservative (sodium nitrite)], modified maize starch, pea flour, salt, yeast extract, sugar, leek powder, onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, flavourings, colour (carotenes), spinach powder.

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.
  • E451 Triphosphates 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.
  • 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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
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.

  • E250 Sodium nitrite 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.
  • 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 722 soups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 647th. 63% of the soups 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 722 soups, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000436959915, last edited 14 August 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • 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.