Is Waitrose Thai style prawn & noodle salad ultra-processed?

255 Noodles 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:

Firming agent

41 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed noodles

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

Cooked wholewheat noodles 33% (wheat flour, wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), water, firming agent (ultra-processing marker) (potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate), rapeseed oil, salt (processing marker)), edamame beans, cooked prawns, courgette, carrots, red pepper, water, spinach, red wine vinegar, sugar (processing marker), coriander, rapeseed oil, ginger, salt (processing marker), red chilli, cornflour, lemongrass, lime leaves, soya beans, black pepper, spirit vinegar, barley malt extract, wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin)

Additives: E500 Sodium carbonates , E500i Sodium carbonate , E501 Potassium carbonates , E501i Potassium carbonate

As written on the pack

Cooked wholewheat noodles (33%) (wholegrain wheat flour, wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), water, firming agent (potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate), rapeseed oil, salt), edamame beans (soya), cooked prawns (crustaceans) (12%), courgette, carrots, red pepper, water, spinach, red wine vinegar, sugar, coriander, rapeseed oil, ginger purée, salt, red chilli, cornflour, lemongrass, lime leaves, soya beans, black pepper, spirit vinegar, barley malt extract, wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin).

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.

Firming agent Firming agents keep fruit and vegetable tissue crisp or firm through processing and storage.

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.

Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 416 noodles

From least to most processed, this one ranks 151st. 73% of the noodles 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 416 noodles, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5063210019991, last edited 12 July 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.