Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Waitrose Salad cream ultra-processed?

Salad dressings Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Waitrose Salad cream

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:

  • 16 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed salad dressings

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, sunflower oil, sugar, spirit vinegar, mustard powder, free range egg yolk, modified maize starch, sea salt, flavourings, white wine vinegar, guar gum, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate, calcium disodium EDTA, colour riboflavin ALLERGY ADVICE (For allergens see ingredients in bold STORAGE)

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E385 Calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Water, sunflower oil, sugar, spirit vinegar, mustard powder, free range egg yolk powder, modified maize starch, sea salt, flavourings, white wine vinegar, stabilisers guar gum and xanthan gum, preservative potassium sorbate, antioxidant calcium disodium EDTA, colour riboflavin ALLERGY ADVICE: For allergens see ingredients in bold STORAGE:

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.

  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.
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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate 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.
  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 252 salad dressings

From least to most processed, this one ranks 180th. 85% of the salad dressings 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 252 salad dressings, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169074282, last edited 20 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.