Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Wicked Kitchen Spicy Smoky Dreamy Mac ultra-processed?

80g Instant pasta with cheese Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Wicked Kitchen Spicy Smoky Dreamy Mac

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:

  • 20 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed instant pasta with cheese

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

Dried Pasta 50% (Durum Wheat Semolina), Potato Starch, Maltodextrin, Flavourings, Soya Protein, Coconut 3%, Red Pepper, Sugar, Spring Onion, Onion, Garlic, Spices, Jalapeño Chilli, Chives, Salt, Colours (Curcumin, Paprika Extract), Black Pepper

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Dried Pasta 50% (Durum Wheat Semolina), Potato Starch, Maltodextrin, Flavourings, Soya Protein, Coconut Extract 3%, Dried Red Pepper, Sugar, Dried Spring Onion, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Spices, Jalapeño Chilli, Chives, Salt, Colours (Curcumin, Paprika Extract), Black Pepper.

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 9 instant pasta with cheese

From least to most processed, this one ranks 6th. 78% of the instant pasta with cheese 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 9 instant pasta with cheese, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057753932015, 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.