Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Waitrose Chunky Breaded Cod Fishfingers ultra-processed?

330 g Fish fingers Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Waitrose Chunky Breaded Cod Fishfingers

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed fish fingers

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

Cod (Gadus morhua), wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), rapeseed oil, water, wheat starch, durum wheat semolina, maize starch, wheat gluten, rice flour, salt, wheat flour, yeast, yeast extract, onion, colour (paprika extract), raising agent (ammonium carbonate)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503i Ammonium carbonate

As written on the pack

Cod (Gadus morhua) (fish) (60%), wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), rapeseed oil, water, wheat starch, durum wheat semolina, maize starch, wheat gluten, rice flour, salt, wheat flour, yeast, yeast extract, onion powder, colour (paprika extract), raising agent (ammonium carbonate)

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.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 63 fish fingers

From least to most processed, this one ranks 55th. 63% of the fish fingers 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 63 fish fingers, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169656136, 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 A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.