TESCO · INGREDIENT FREQUENCY

What's in Tesco's products?

We scored 7,369 Tesco products from our UK supermarket index (4,646 have a verified NOVA processing score). Here's what shows up most often in their ingredient lists, and how scores are distributed across the shelf.

Score distribution — 4,646 scored Tesco products

80+

912

19.6%

60-79

397

8.5%

40-59

734

15.8%

<40

2,603

56%

Most common additives in Tesco's shelf

% = of Tesco products that contain at least one mention of this additive in their ingredient list.

Citric acid (E330) 553 9.2%
Lecithin (E322) 445 7.4%
Sodium carbonate / bicarb (E500) 382 6.3%
Paprika extract (E160c) 310 5.1%
Ascorbic acid / Vitamin C (E300) 308 5.1%
E500II 303 5%
Diphosphates (E450) 302 5%
Mono- and diglycerides (E471) 288 4.8%
Potassium sorbate (E202) 233 3.9%
E450I 211 3.5%
Xanthan gum (E415) 207 3.4%
E250 184 3%
Beta-carotene (E160a) 172 2.8%
Guar gum (E412) 158 2.6%
E440 153 2.5%
E322I 145 2.4%
E422 142 2.4%
E331 139 2.3%
E503 131 2.2%
E301 126 2.1%

Most common ingredients on Tesco's shelf

The categorical-tag class includes broad descriptors (water, salt, sugar) alongside ingredients proper. Read these as "what tag-class shows up across the Tesco shelf".

Salt 40.7%

Sugar 32.1%

Water 29.3%

Flour 28.1%

Rapeseed Oil 20.2%

Wheat 20%

Dairy 18.7%

Wheat Flour 17.1%

Starch 16.5%

Seed 16%

Vegetable Oil 15.7%

Garlic 13.9%

Onion 13.8%

Iron 13.4%

Glucose 13.3%

Thiamin 13.3%

Corn 13.3%

Yeast 12.8%

Pepper 12.5%

Plant 11.6%

Corn Flour 11.3%

Palm Oil And Fat 10.6%

Sunflower Oil 10%

Palm Oil 9.9%

Juice 9.7%