Unwrapped Food

Smooth Duck and Seville Orange Pate

Tesco Finest

5059697678929

Processing

4

Ultra-processed

Group 4 of 4 on the NOVA scale

Additives listed

9

1 we grade moderate or higher

7 of them not yet assessed here

Saturates per 100g

6.60g

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 (9)

This label lists 4 thickeners and gelling agents, 2 acidity regulators, 1 antioxidant, 1 colour and 1 preservative.

E250 Sodium nitrite
Preservative and colour fixer, cured meats Higher concern strong evidence

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.

Regulatory status UK Permitted with limits or a warning EU Permitted with limits or a warning US Permitted with limits or a warning

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

E330 Citric acid
Acidity regulator No real concern strong evidence

What it is. A mild acid found naturally in citrus fruit, made commercially by fermentation.

Why it is used. Adds tartness, balances flavour and helps preserve. One of the most used additives in food.

What the evidence says. Safe at food levels. No credible health concern for the additive itself.

Regulatory status UK Permitted EU Permitted US Permitted

Permitted freely.

Assessed against EFSA, JECFA. Full entry for E330

Also on the label, not assessed here yet

  • E150A Plain caramel colour
  • E301 Sodium ascorbate antioxidant
  • E331 Sodium citrates acidity regulator
  • E406 Agar thickener
  • E410 Locust bean gum thickener
  • E428 Gelatine thickener
  • E440 Pectin 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

Duck Liver (19%), Pork Fat, Water, Orange Jelly [Water, Concentrated Orange Juice, Pork Gelatine, Orange Peel, Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Dextrose, Gelling Agents (Agar, Locust Bean Gum), Salt, Colour (Plain Caramel)], Chicken Liver, Single Cream (Milk), Seville Orange Marmalade (5%) [Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Orange Pulp, Sugar, Gelling Agent (Amidated Pectin), Acidity Regulators (Trisodium Citrate, Citric Acid), Bitter Orange Oil], Tapioca Starch, Butter (Milk), Concentrated Apple Juice, Dextrose, Salt, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Black Pepper, Preservative (Sodium Nitrite).

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.

Scan another barcode Search