Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco spaghetti carbonara ultra-processed?

400g Pasta dishes Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Tesco spaghetti carbonara

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed pasta dishes

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

Cooked Pasta (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Whole Milk, Water, Roast Smoked Pancetta 8% (Pork Belly, Salt, Dextrose, Black Pepper, Garlic, Coriander, Nutmeg, Sodium Nitrite, Potassium Nitrate), Whipping Cream, Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, Pecorino Medium Fat Hard Cheese, Cornflour, Egg, Garlic Purée, Parsley, Black Pepper

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E252 Potassium nitrate

As written on the pack

Cooked Pasta [Water, Durum Wheat Semolina]. Whole Milk, Water, Roast Smoked Pancetta (8%) [Pork Belly, Salt, Dextrose, Black Pepper, Garlic, Coriander, Nutmeg, Preservative (Sodium Nitrite, Potassium Nitrate)], Whipping Cream (Milk), Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (Milk), Pecorino Medium Fat Hard Cheese (Milk), Cornflour, Pasteurised Egg, Garlic Purée, Parsley, Black Pepper.

What makes it ultra-processed

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.
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.
  • E252 Potassium nitrate 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 543 pasta dishes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 304th. 73% of the pasta dishes 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 543 pasta dishes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5052004864206, last edited 26 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.