Is Walkers smoky bacon crisps ultra-processed?

Flavoured potato crisps 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:

Flavouring
Lactose
E160c Paprika extract

13 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score B

Less processed flavoured potato crisps

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

Potatoes, Vegetable Oils (processing marker) (Sunflower Vegetable Oils, Rapeseed Vegetable Oils), Smoky Bacon Seasoning, Milk Lactose (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Citric acid, Malic acid, Smoke Flavouring (ultra-processing marker), Paprika extract (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E296 Malic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Potatoes, Vegetable Oils (Sunflower, Rapeseed, in varying proportions), Smoky Bacon Seasoning [Dried Milk Lactose. Salt, Sugar, Flavouring, Acids (Citric acid, Malic acid), Smoke Flavouring, Colour (Paprika extract))

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.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.

4 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.

Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
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 191 flavoured potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 110th. 95% of the flavoured potato crisps 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 191 flavoured potato crisps, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 51000015, last edited 11 September 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.