The best spaghetti pancetta carbonara
Processing
3
Processed foods
Group 3 of 4 on the NOVA scale
Additives listed
4
1 we grade moderate or higher
3 of them not yet assessed here
Fat per 100g
7.90g
Medium
UK FSA front of pack threshold
Three separate readings, kept apart on purpose. This is not a score, and none of it says this product is harmful.
Additives (4)
This label lists 3 preservatives and 1 antioxidant.
E250
Sodium nitrite
Preservative and colour fixer, cured meats
What it is. A curing salt that keeps cured and processed meats pink and stops the growth of the bacteria behind botulism.
Why it is used. Used in bacon, ham, salami and hot dogs for preservation, safety and colour.
What the evidence says. The concern is not the additive in isolation but processed meat as a whole, which the WHO's cancer agency IARC classes as Group 1, meaning there is sufficient evidence it causes colorectal cancer. Nitrite can form nitrosamines during curing and cooking, and those are the likely culprit. Risk rises with how much processed meat you eat over time.
Permitted with strict maximum levels. The EU cut the allowed limits further from 2023 to reduce nitrosamine formation.
Assessed against IARC, EFSA, UK FSA. Full entry for E250
Also on the label, not assessed here yet
- E1105 Lysozyme preservative
- E252 Potassium nitrate preservative
- E301 Sodium ascorbate antioxidant
Names and jobs come from the register of additives permitted in Great Britain, which we have not finished transcribing: a code shown without a name is a gap in our coverage, not a finding that it is unapproved. Naming one is not grading it either. Full detail appears only where we have an assessment against a named authority, so all of this describes our coverage rather than these additives. Most are common and low concern.
Ingredients
Cooked spaghetti pasta (37%) (water, durum wheat semolina), Whole milk, Water, Smoked pancetta (8%) (pork belly, salt, antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), white pepper, nutmeg, preservatives (potassium nitrate, sodium nitrite), dried garlic, coriander extract), Parmigiano reggiano PDO cheese (milk) (6%), Single cream (milk), Pasteurised liquid whole egg, Rapeseed oil, Italian style hard cheese (cheese (milk), preservative (egg lysozyme)), Cornflour, Wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), Parsley, Garlic purée, Black pepper
As printed on the pack, in the producer's own order: ingredients are listed by weight, so what comes first is most of what is in it. E numbers link to their assessment where we have one.