Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Waitrose Pepperoni Pizza ultra-processed?

385g Pepperoni pizzas Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Waitrose Pepperoni Pizza

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:

  • 35 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed pepperoni pizzas

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

Wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), mozzarella cheese, water, pepperoni 11% (pork, durum wheat semolina, sea salt, dextrose, salt, paprika extract, cayenne pepper, rosemary extract, antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), garlic, paprika, pepper extract, starter culture, preservative (sodium nitrite)), tomatoes, wheat semolina, rapeseed oil, tomato purée, yeast, basil, salt, low sodium sea salt, wheat gluten, deactivated yeast

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E250 Sodium nitrite , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E392 Extracts of rosemary

As written on the pack

Wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), mozzarella cheese (milk), water, pepperoni (11%) (pork, durum wheat semolina, sea salt, dextrose, salt, paprika extract, cayenne pepper, rosemary extract, antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), garlic powder, paprika, pepper extract, starter culture, preservative (sodium nitrite)), tomatoes, wheat semolina, rapeseed oil, tomato purée, yeast, basil, salt, low sodium sea salt, wheat gluten, deactivated yeast

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.

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.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
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.
  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 34 pepperoni pizzas

From least to most processed, this one ranks 22nd. 94% of the pepperoni pizzas 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 34 pepperoni pizzas, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169656396, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.