Is Jam Ultra-Processed?

Why Jam scores NOVA 3 — Processed

Jam is one of the oldest preserved foods — fruit cooked with sugar and set with pectin. That process is exactly what NOVA 3 describes: a recognisable food altered by processing methods like cooking and preserving. Every standard jam we checked at Tesco follows the same basic formula: sugar, fruit, an acidity regulator (citric acid), and a gelling agent (pectin). None of those ingredients are UPF markers.

Pectin is extracted from fruit peel (usually citrus or apple) and is used to set jams and marmalades. It is not an industrial additive — it is the same substance that makes fruit naturally gel when cooked. Citric acid occurs naturally in citrus fruits and is used to control pH during jam-making. Both are standard food-processing ingredients, not ultra-processing markers.

The exception is Tesco Seedless Strawberry Jam. Despite costing the same £0.89 as Tesco's standard Strawberry Jam, the seedless version adds glucose-fructose syrup — an industrially produced sugar made by enzymatically converting glucose to fructose. This is the UK equivalent of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and is a clear NOVA 4 marker. It is not needed for jam-making; Tesco's own standard version manages without it.

At the premium end, Bonne Maman lists strawberries as the first ingredient (50-67g fruit per 100g) and uses only sugar, concentrated lemon juice, and fruit pectin. St Dalfour goes further — no added sugar at all, relying on grape and date juice concentrates for sweetness. Both score a clean NOVA 3.

Stockwell & Co (Tesco's budget range) at just £0.49 also scores NOVA 3, using the same standard formula of sugar, strawberry, water, citric acid, trisodium citrate, and pectin. Budget does not have to mean ultra-processed.