Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Waitrose Cooking Chorizo ultra-processed?

Chorizos Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Waitrose Cooking Chorizo

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:

  • 13 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chorizos

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, paprika, salt, maize dextrose, maize dextrin, garlic, paprika extract, stabiliser (triphosphates), antioxidant (sodium erythorbate), preservative (sodium nitrite)

Additives: E1400 Dextrin , E160c Paprika extract , E250 Sodium nitrite , E316 Sodium erythorbate , E451 Triphosphates

As written on the pack

Pork, paprika, salt, maize dextrose, maize dextrin, garlic, paprika extract, stabiliser (triphosphates), antioxidant (sodium erythorbate), preservative (sodium nitrite).

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.

  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E451 Triphosphates 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.
  • Sausages Products in the category "Sausages" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 26 chorizos

From least to most processed, this one ranks 23rd. 65% of the chorizos 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 26 chorizos, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169631744, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.