Is Tesco Wafer Thin Honey Roast Ham Slices ultra-processed?

400g Hams Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Wafer Thin Honey Roast Ham 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:

  • 25 ingredients
  • 11 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed hams

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

Pork 86%, Water, Honey (processing marker) 4.5%, Salt (processing marker), Dextrose (ultra-processing marker), Potassium Triphosphate (ultra-processing marker), Sodium Triphosphate (ultra-processing marker), Tetrapotassium Diphosphate (ultra-processing marker), Mineral Sea Salt (processing marker), Sodium Ascorbate, Brown Sugar (processing marker), Sodium Nitrite (processing marker), Sodium Nitrate (processing marker), Breadcrumbs (Rice Flour, Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Salt (processing marker), Curcumin (ultra-processing marker), Paprika Extract (ultra-processing marker), Dextrose (ultra-processing marker)), Sugar (processing marker), Caramelised Sugar Syrup (processing marker), Pork Gelatine (ultra-processing marker), Cane Molasses (processing marker)

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract , E250 Sodium nitrite , E251 Sodium nitrate , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E428 Gelatine , E450 Diphosphates , E450v Tetrapotassium diphosphate , E451 Triphosphates , E451i Pentasodium triphosphate , E451ii Pentapotassium triphosphate

As written on the pack

Pork (86%), Water, Honey (4.5%), Salt, Dextrose, Stabilisers (Potassium Triphosphate, Sodium Triphosphate, Tetrapotassium Diphosphate), Mineral Sea Salt, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Brown Sugar, Preservatives (Sodium Nitrite, Sodium Nitrate), Gluten Free Breadcrumbs [Rice Flour, Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Colours (Curcumin, Paprika Extract), Dextrose], Sugar, Caramelised Sugar Syrup, Pork Gelatine, Cane Molasses

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E451 Triphosphates 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.

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.
6 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.
  • E251 Sodium 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.
  • Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 223 hams

From least to most processed, this one ranks 211th. 65% of the hams 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 223 hams, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057967620821, last edited 27 September 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.