Is Tesco Plant Chef Southern Fried Fillets ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 33 ingredients
- 4 additives
- Nutri-Score A
Less processed meat analogues
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Water, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Rapeseed Oil, Wheat Protein 9%, Bamboo Fibre (ultra-processing marker), Stabilisers (Methyl Cellulose (ultra-processing marker), Sodium Alginate (ultra-processing marker)), Pea Protein 1%, Flavourings (ultra-processing marker), Rice Flour, Wheat Gluten (ultra-processing marker), Black Pepper, Salt (processing marker), Wheat Starch (processing marker), Fennel, Yeast Extract, Garlic, Onion, Dextrose (ultra-processing marker), Yeast, White Pepper, Paprika, Chilli, Raising Agent (Ammonium Carbonate), Black Pepper Extract, Thyme
Additives: E401 Sodium alginate , E461 Methyl cellulose , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503i Ammonium carbonate
As written on the pack
Water, Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Rapeseed Oil, Wheat Protein (9%), Bamboo Fibre, Stabilisers (Methyl Cellulose, Sodium Alginate), Pea Protein (1%), Flavourings, Rice Flour, Wheat Gluten, Black Pepper, Salt, Wheat Starch, Fennel, Yeast Extract, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Dextrose, Yeast, White Pepper, Paprika, Chilli Powder, Raising Agent (Ammonium Carbonate), Black Pepper Extract, Thyme Extract.
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.
- E401 Sodium alginate A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
- 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.
- 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.
- Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
- 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.
Among 512 meat analogues
From least to most processed, this one ranks 417th. 80% of the meat analogues here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697762192, 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.