Is Waitrose & Partners Wholegrain Mexican Style Rice ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 19 ingredients
- 1 additive
- Nutri-Score C
Less processed rices
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Cooked rice 72%, sweetcorn 8%, adzuki beans 5%, red pepper, tomato paste, lime juice, sunflower oil (processing marker), rapeseed oil, flavouring (ultra-processing marker), onion, chilli, yeast powder, smoked flavouring (ultra-processing marker), garlic, coriander, cumin, colour (ultra-processing marker) (paprika extract (ultra-processing marker)), turmeric powder
Additives: E160c Paprika extract
As written on the pack
Cooked wholegrain rice (72%), sweetcorn (8%), adzuki beans (5%), red pepper, tomato paste, lime juice, sunflower oil and/or rapeseed oil, flavouring, onion, chilli, yeast powder, smoked flavouring, garlic powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, colour: paprika extract, turmeric 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.
- E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
- 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.
2 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.
- Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
Among 293 rices
From least to most processed, this one ranks 261st. 35% of the rices here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169547724, last edited 22 June 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.