Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Al'fez Smoky Harissa Tagine Sauce ultra-processed?

450 g Harissa sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Al'fez Smoky Harissa Tagine Sauce

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 26 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed harissa sauces

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Water, Tomato 30%, Dates, Chilli Paste (Red Chilli Pepper 3.5%, Salt, Acid (Acetic Acid)), Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Concentrated Tomato Purée 3%, Garlic Purée, Modified Maize Starch, Spices (Spices, Cumin, Coriander, Smoked Paprika), Concentrated Lemon Juice, Onion, Red Chilli 0.1%, Salt, Acid (Citric Acid), Coriander Leaf, Paprika Extract

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E260 Acetic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Water, Tomato (30%), Dates, Chilli Paste [Red Chilli Pepper (3.5%), Salt, Acid (Acetic Acid)], Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Concentrated Tomato Purée (3%), Garlic Purée, Modified Maize Starch, Spices (Spices, Cumin, Coriander, Smoked Paprika), Concentrated Lemon Juice, Onion Powder, Dried Crushed Red Chilli (0.1%), Salt, Acid (Citric Acid), Dried Coriander Leaf, Paprika Extract. ALLERGY ADVICE: May contain peanuts and nuts.

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.
3 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 17 harissa sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 17th. 65% of the harissa sauces here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 17 harissa sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010338102128, last edited 27 March 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.