Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Sweet & Sour Chicken with Egg Fried Rice ultra-processed?

Meals with chicken Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Sweet & Sour Chicken with Egg Fried Rice

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:

  • 42 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed meals with chicken

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 egg fried rice (water, long rice, egg, onion, peas, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, ginger, garlic purée, salt, flavourings, lemon juice), cooked battered chic 20% (chicken breast, palm oil, corn starch, wh flour, potato starch, salt, disodi diphosphate, sodium bicarbonate), water, red sugar, rice vinegar, pineapple, tomato purée, c concentrated pineapple juice, cornflour, sesa ginger purée, rapeseed oil, spirit vinegar, sal (paprika extract), cinnamon, cayenne pepper doge made using thai chicken, including cerea containing gluten, caution although every care has been tak bones, some may remain, wolwon garden city al7 1ga, u.k, nutrition when microwaved according to instructi typical values eac energy fat

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E450 Diphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E450 Diphosphates.

As written on the pack

cooked egg fried rice [water, long rice, pasteurised egg. onion, peas, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, ginger purée, garlic purée, salt, flavourings, lemon juice], cooked battered chic (20%) [chicken breast, palm oil, corn starch, wh flour, potato starch, salt, raising agents (disodi diphosphate, sodium bicarbonate)]. water, red sugar, rice vinegar, pineapple, tomato purée, c concentrated pineapple juice, cornflour, sesa ginger purée, rapeseed oil, spirit vinegar, sal (paprika extract), cinnamon, cayenne pepper doge made using thai chicken. allergy advice for allergens, including cerea containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. caution although every care has been tak bones, some may remain. wolwon garden city al7 1ga, u.k. nutrition when microwaved according to instructi typical values eac energy 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.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 213 meals with chicken

From least to most processed, this one ranks 163rd. 79% of the meals with chicken 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 213 meals with chicken, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697743849, last edited 25 August 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.