Nearly a third of Tesco‘s own-brand products contain additives classified as ‘high-risk’, despite its recent pledge to ban or restrict 114 ingredients as part of its crackdown on ultra-processed foods.

New research by food-scanning app Yuka, carried out for The Grocer, found that 30.6 per cent of the retailer’s 4,196 own-label products contained at least one additive it considers high-risk.

The findings come just weeks after Tesco announced plans to remove or restrict 114 additives across its own-brand range in a bid to simplify ingredients and address growing consumer concerns around ultra-processed foods.

According to the research, the most commonly identified additives included mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, found in 336 products, disodium diphosphate in 305 products and sodium nitrite in 296.

Processed meats and bakery products were among the categories with the highest prevalence, with 33 of Tesco’s 37 bacon products containing at least one additive rated high-risk by Yuka.

It also highlighted everyday products including bread, wraps, croissants and mayonnaise as containing additives that raised concerns under Yuka’s assessment criteria.

Yuka co-founder Julie Chapon questioned the transparency of Tesco’s crackdown, arguing that the retailer had not published a full list of the additives being banned or restricted.

She also warned that restricting individual additives would not necessarily reduce the overall level of ultra-processing across Tesco’s product range.

However, the findings do not suggest Tesco is using additives that have not been approved by the Food Standards Agency, while Yuka’s comparison with another supermarket produced almost identical results.

A Tesco spokesperson said the supermarket was continuing to reformulate its own-brand products to make them healthier and more nutritious, with artificial colours, aspartame and monosodium glutamate already banned.

They stressed that removing additives across thousands of products was a complex process that could take several years, requiring extensive development work with suppliers.

It added that reformulation decisions must balance nutritional improvements with affordability, product quality, shelf life and food safety.

Tesco is also introducing a ‘Made Without Added Nitrites’ range of ham and bacon, alongside new online shopping filters that allow customers to search for products without additives, artificial colours and flavours or artificial preservatives.

The findings follow Tesco’s announcement last month that it was expanding its additive restrictions from 65 to 114, after its own research found that 81 per cent of customers were trying to reduce the amount of ultra-processed food they consumed.

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