Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Waitrose Wood-fired Prosciutto Cotto, Chestnut Mushroom & Mascarpone Sourdough Pizza ultra-processed?

490 g Pizzas Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Waitrose Wood-fired Prosciutto Cotto, Chestnut Mushroom & Mascarpone Sourdough 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:

  • 82 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed 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

Sourdough starter 20% (wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), water, wheat flour, wheat starch, wheat, sourdough culture (wheat)), wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), mozzarella cheese, chestnut mushrooms 7%, béchamel sauce (milk, whipping cream, water, cornflour, unsalted butter, gelling agent (pectin), salt, white pepper), prosciutto cotto ham 6% (pork leg, salt, dextrose, sugar, antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), flavouring, preservative (sodium nitrite)), mascarpone cheese 6% (cream, milk proteins), tomatoes (tomatoes, vegetable oils (rapeseed vegetable oils, sunflower vegetable oils), water, apple cider vinegar, parsley, salt, garlic, mint, chilli pepper, acidity regulator (citric acid)), crème fraîche, water, wheat semolina, pecorino cheese, tomato purée, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt, rapeseed oil, garlic, yeast, lemon juice, wheat flour, basil, dextrose, deactivated yeast, black pepper, wheat gluten, low sodium sea salt, malted wheat flour, concentrated lemon juice, muscovado sugar, thyme ALLERGY ADVICE, including cereals containing gluten

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E301 Sodium ascorbate , E330 Citric acid , E440 Pectins

As written on the pack

Sourdough starter (20%) (wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), water, wheat flour, wheat starch, malted wheat. sourdough culture (wheat)), wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), mozzarella cheese (milk), chestnut mushrooms (7%), béchamel sauce (milk, whipping cream (milk), water, cornflour, unsalted butter (milk), gelling agent (pectin), salt, white pepper), prosciutto cotto ham (6%) (pork leg, salt, dextrose, sugar, antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), flavouring, preservative (sodium nitrite)), mascarpone cheese (6%) (cream (milk), milk proteins), semi-dried tomatoes (tomatoes, vegetable oils [rapeseed, sunflower], water, apple cider vinegar, parsley, salt, garlic powder, mint, chilli pepper, acidity regulator (citric acid)), crème fraîche (milk), water, wheat semolina, pecorino cheese (milk), tomato purée, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt, rapeseed oil, garlic, yeast, lemon juice, wheat flour, basil, dextrose, deactivated yeast, black pepper, wheat gluten, low sodium sea salt, malted wheat flour, concentrated lemon juice, muscovado sugar, thyme ALLERGY ADVICE: For allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold.

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.

  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Gelling agent Gelling agents such as pectin, gelatine or carrageenan set liquids into gels and stabilise textures.

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.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
10 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.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 371 pizzas

From least to most processed, this one ranks 346th. 78% of the 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 371 pizzas, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000169659045, last edited 28 February 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.