Steak & Ale Pie
Processing
4
Ultra-processed
Group 4 of 4 on the NOVA scale
Additives listed
3
1 we grade moderate or higher
1 of them not yet assessed here
Saturates per 100g
6.30g
High
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 (3)
This label lists 1 antioxidant, 1 preservative and 1 thickener or gelling agent.
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
E300
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
Antioxidant
What it is. Vitamin C, added to protect colour and flavour and sometimes to fortify.
Why it is used. Stops browning in juices and cut fruit, protects fats, and boosts vitamin content.
What the evidence says. Beneficial and harmless at the levels used. Included here as a reminder that an E number is just a code, and plenty of them are ordinary nutrients.
Permitted freely, no concern.
Assessed against EFSA, JECFA. Full entry for E300
Also on the label, not assessed here yet
- E428 Gelatine thickener
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
British beef (31%), wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), onions, ale (11%) (barley), water, carrots, red wine, rapeseed oil, sustainable palm oil, mushrooms, bacon (pork, salt, preservative: sodium nitrite*, antioxidant: ascorbic acid), cornflour, celery, beef stock (water, yeast extract, beef bones, salt, molasses, tomato purée, rapeseed oil, dried onions, ground black pepper), port, tomato purée, beef gelatine, salt, vegetarian Worcester sauce (water, sugar, spirit vinegar, molasses, onion purée, salt, tamarind paste, cloves, garlic purée, ginger purée), garlic purée, semi-dried cherry tomatoes, black pepper, porcini mushroom powder.
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.