Is Waitrose Kerala inspired chicken fry ultra-processed?

Microwave meals Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
E160c Paprika extract

27 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score A

Less processed microwave meals

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

chicken breast 41%, onion, rapeseed oil, red pepper, tomato, garlic purée, ginger, tomato paste, yellow split peas, coconut, ginger, concentrated lemon juice, cornflour, coriander, salt (processing marker), desiccated coconut, curry, chickpeas, turmeric, chilli, colour (ultra-processing marker) (paprika extract (ultra-processing marker)), mustard seeds, asafoetida, coriander, cumin, dried fenugreek leaf

Additives: E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Diced chicken breast (41%), onion, rapeseed oil, red pepper, tomato, garlic purée, ginger purée, tomato paste, ground yellow split peas, coconut extract, shredded ginger, concentrated lemon juice, cornflour, chopped coriander, salt, desiccated coconut, whole curry leaves, ground split chickpeas, turmeric, chilli powder, colour (paprika extract), mustard seeds, asafoetida, ground coriander, cumin, dried fenugreek leaf.

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.

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.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 351 microwave meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 171st. 72% of the microwave meals 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 351 microwave meals, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169413128, 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.