Is Tesco Plant Chef Cumberland Style Meat Free Bangers ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 35 ingredients
- 3 additives
Less processed vegetarian sausages
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Water, Pea Protein 11%, Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Closed Cup Mushroom, Stabiliser (Methyl Cellulose (ultra-processing marker)), Rice Flour, Potato, Shea Fat (processing marker), Chickpea Flour, Bamboo Fibre (ultra-processing marker), Yeast Extract, Coconut Oil (processing marker), Parsley, Black Pepper, Flavourings (ultra-processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Sea Salt (processing marker), Cornflour, Thyme, Sage, Marjoram, Maltodextrin (ultra-processing marker), Caramelised Sugar (processing marker), Dextrose (ultra-processing marker), Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Beetroot Red (ultra-processing marker)), Black Pepper Extract, Ferric Diphosphate, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Zinc Oxide, Vitamin B12
Additives: E162 Beetroot red , E330 Citric acid , E461 Methyl cellulose
As written on the pack
Water, Pea Protein (11%), Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Closed Cup Mushroom, Stabiliser (Methyl Cellulose), Rice Flour, Dried Potato, Shea Fat, Chickpea Flour, Bamboo Fibre, Yeast Extract, Coconut Oil, Parsley, Black Pepper, Flavourings, Sugar, Salt, Sea Salt, Cornflour, Thyme, Sage, Marjoram, Maltodextrin, Caramelised Sugar, Dextrose, Colour (Beetroot Red), Black Pepper Extract, Ferric Diphosphate, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Zinc Oxide, Vitamin B12.
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.
- E162 Beetroot red 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.
- E461 Methyl cellulose 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.
- 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.
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.
- Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
- Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
- Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
- Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
- Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
- Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
Among 84 vegetarian sausages
From least to most processed, this one ranks 63rd. 96% of the vegetarian sausages here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697711695, last edited 23 July 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.