Is Tesco Square Brown Soda Bread ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 23 ingredients
- 7 additives
- Nutri-Score B
Less processed breads
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NOVA group
1
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Mccambridge Spelt Bread 500G
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Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Buttermilk, Wheat Bran, Sugar (processing marker), Treacle (ultra-processing marker), Raising Agent (Sodium Carbonate, Potassium Carbonate), Spirit Vinegar, Preservative (processing marker) (Potassium Sorbate (processing marker), Calcium Propionate), Palm Oil, Salt (processing marker), Rapeseed Oil, Emulsifier (ultra-processing marker) (mono- and DiGlycerides of Fatty Acids (ultra-processing marker)), Palm Fat
Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E282 Calcium propionate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500i Sodium carbonate , E501 Potassium carbonates , E501i Potassium carbonate
As written on the pack
Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Buttermilk (Milk) (48%), Wheat Bran, Sugar, Treacle, Raising Agent (Sodium Carbonate, Potassium Carbonate), Spirit Vinegar, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Propionate), Palm Oil, Salt, Rapeseed Oil, Emulsifier (Mono - and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Palm Fat.
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.
- E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
- Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
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.
- Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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.
- E202 Potassium sorbate 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.
- Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Among 2,388 breads
From least to most processed, this one ranks 1739th. 71% of the breads here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5052004287340, last edited 2 April 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 B (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.