Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Waitrose British Honey Roast Ham ultra-processed?

115g Hams Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Waitrose British Honey Roast Ham

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:

  • 14 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

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 98%, honey 2%, salt, wheat dextrose, stabilisers (di, tri, polyphosphates), antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), preservatives (sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate), NUTRITION TYPICAL VALUES AS SOLD Energy kJ Energy kcal Fat

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E452 Polyphosphates

As written on the pack

Pork (98%), honey (2%), salt, wheat dextrose, stabilisers (di, tri and polyphosphates), antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), preservatives (sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate) NUTRITION TYPICAL VALUES AS SOLD Energy kJ Energy kcal Fat

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.

  • E452 Polyphosphates 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.
5 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.
  • Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 223 hams

From least to most processed, this one ranks 170th. 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 5000169258224, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.