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Is The Vegetarian Butcher Happy Go Clucky ultra-processed?

180 g Meat analogues from soy or wheat proteins Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of The Vegetarian Butcher Happy Go Clucky

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:

  • 41 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed meat analogues from soy or wheat proteins

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

Plant structure 50% (water, SOY protein, WHEAT gluten, potato starch), WHEAT flour, water, vegetable oils (rapeseed vegetable oils, sunflower vegetable oils), fibres (bamboo, psyllium husk, OAT), tapioca starch, WHEAT starch, thickener (methyl cellulose), salt, natural flavourings, WHEAT gluten, yeast extract, acidity regulator (potassium acetate), dextrose, raising agents (diphosphates, sodium carbonate), spirit vinegar, sugar, yeast, acid (citric acid), spices, spice extracts, lovage, yeast extract, herb extracts, iron (ferric pyrophosphate), vitamin B12

Additives: E261 Potassium acetate , E330 Citric acid , E450 Diphosphates , E461 Methyl cellulose , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500i Sodium carbonate

As written on the pack

Plant structure (50%) [water, SOY protein, WHEAT gluten, potato starch], WHEAT flour, water, vegetable oils (rapeseed, sunflower), fibres (bamboo, psyllium husk, OAT), tapioca starch, WHEAT starch, thickener (methyl cellulose), salt, natural flavourings, WHEAT gluten, yeast extract, acidity regulator (potassium acetate), dextrose, raising agents (diphosphates, sodium carbonate), spirit vinegar, sugar, yeast, acid (citric acid), spices, spice extracts (contains CELERY), lovage, yeast extract, herb extracts, iron (ferric pyrophosphate). vitamin B12.

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.

  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • 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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 27 meat analogues from soy or wheat proteins

From least to most processed, this one ranks 25th. 89% of the meat analogues from soy or wheat proteins 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 27 meat analogues from soy or wheat proteins, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8720182102201, 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.
  • 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.