Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Vegetable stock cubes ultra-processed?

100 g Bouillon cubes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Vegetable stock cubes

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 1 additive

Less processed bouillon cubes

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

salt, palm oil, potato starch, milk sugar, sugar, yeast extract, dried vegetables 5% (celery powder, carrot, onion, onion, leek, rice flour, spinach powder), parsley, flavouring, turmeric powder, celery seed, colour (plain caramel), garlic

Additives: E150a Plain caramel

As written on the pack

salt, palm oil, potato starch, milk sugar, sugar, yeast extract, dried vegetables (5%) [celery powder, carrot, onion powder, onion, leek, rice flour, spinach powder], dried parsley, flavouring, turmeric powder, celery seed, colour (plain caramel), garlic powder,

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • 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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
3 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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 60 bouillon cubes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 47th. 85% of the bouillon cubes 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 60 bouillon cubes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5051898663902, 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.