Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Plain Instant Mash Potato ultra-processed?

160g Instant mashed potatoes Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Tesco Plain Instant Mash Potato

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:

  • 11 ingredients
  • 4 additives

Less processed instant mashed potatoes

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

potato, palm oil, skimmed milk, flavourings, milk sugar, milk proteins, salt, black pepper, rosemary extract, algal carotenes, curcumin

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160a Carotene , E160aiv Algal carotenes , E392 Extracts of rosemary

As written on the pack

potato, palm oil, dried skimmed milk, flavourings (contain milk), milk sugar, milk proteins, salt, black pepper, antioxidant (rosemary extract), colours (algal carotenes, curcumin (contains milk)), allergy advice for allergens, see ingredients in bold,

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.
1 ingredient 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 25 instant mashed potatoes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 24th. 76% of the instant mashed potatoes 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 25 instant mashed potatoes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5053947691140, last edited 20 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.