Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Waitrose Free From Sliced Mixed Seed Loaf ultra-processed?

Gluten-free breads Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Waitrose Free From Sliced Mixed Seed Loaf

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed gluten-free breads

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

Water, tapioca starch, mixed seeds 11% (sunflower seeds, brown linseed, millet seeds, golden linseed, poppy seeds), rice flour, maize starch, potato starch, maize flour, rapeseed oil, rice starch, psyllium husk, yeast, bamboo fibre, stabilisers (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, xanthan gum), rice profein, free range egg white, brown sugar, maize starch, salt, colour (plain caramel)

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E415 Xanthan gum , E464 Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose

As written on the pack

Water, tapioca starch, mixed seeds (11%) (sunflower seeds, brown linseed, millet seeds, golden linseed, poppy seeds), rice flour, maize starch, potato starch, maize flour, rapeseed oil, rice starch, psyllium husk powder, yeast, bamboo fibre, stabilisers (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, xanthan gum), rice profein, dried pasteurised free range egg white, brown sugar, fermented maize starch, salt, colour (plain caramel)

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E464 Hydroxypropyl 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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
3 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 55 gluten-free breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 26th. 95% of the gluten-free breads 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 55 gluten-free breads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169596548, 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.