Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Wholegrain Spicy Rice ultra-processed?

250 g Rices Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Pack of Tesco Wholegrain Spicy 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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed rices

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 rice 79%, water, brown ricel, mixed vegetables 12%, red pepper, sweetcorn, adzuki beans, tomato paste, sunflower oil, sugar, lemon juice, yeast extract powder, turmeric extract, jalapeño chilli, colour (paprika extract), cumin, garlic, salt, chilli, stabiliser (guar gum), onion

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

cooked wholegrain rice (79%) [water, brown ricel, mixed vegetables (12%) [red pepper, sweetcorn, adzuki beans), tomato paste, sunflower oil, sugar, lemon juice, yeast extract powder, turmeric extract, jalapeño chilli, colour (paprika extract), cumin powder, garlic powder, salt, chilli powder, stabiliser (guar gum), onion 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.

  • 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.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 293 rices

From least to most processed, this one ranks 281st. 35% of the rices 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 293 rices, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057008025103, last edited 1 May 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.