Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Tesco Vegetarian Spinach & Cheddar Cheese Lattice Slices ultra-processed?

Pies Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Vegetarian Spinach & Cheddar Cheese Lattice Slices

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:

  • 39 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed pies

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

Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Spinach 13%, Mature Cheddar Cheese, Whole Milk, Palm Oil, Leek, Single Cream, Modified Maize Starch, Potato, Salt, Yeast, Rapeseed Oil, Stabiliser (Methyl Cellulose), Flavouring, Sugar, Pea Protein, Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, White Pepper, Potato Starch, Flour Treatment Agent (L-Cysteine), Nutmeg, Turmeric, Colour (Beta, Carotene), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Lovage, including cereals containing gluten, ✓

Additives: E160a Carotene , E330 Citric acid , E461 Methyl cellulose , E920 L-cysteine

As written on the pack

Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Water, Spinach (13%), Mature Cheddar Cheese (Milk) (11%), Whole Milk, Palm Oil, Leek, Single Cream (Milk) Modified Maize Starch, Potato, Salt, Yeast, Rapeseed Oil, Stabiliser (Methyl Cellulose), Flavouring (contains Milk), Sugar, Pea Protein, Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, White Pepper, Potato Starch, Flour Treatment Agent (L-Cysteine), Nutmeg, Turmeric, Colour (Beta - Carotene), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Lovage Extract. Allergy Advice For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. ✓ Suitable for vegetarians

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.
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.

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

How the NOVA groups work

Among 101 pies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 69th. 76% of the pies 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 101 pies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697269974, last edited 23 July 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.