Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Asda Gravey ultra-processed?

200g Dehydrated sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Asda Gravey

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed dehydrated 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

Potato Starch, Palm Oil, Salt, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin (B3), Thiamin (B1)), Dextrose, Yeast Extract, Colours (Ammonia Caramel, Paprika Extract), Flavourings, Chicken 1%, Dried Onion, Sage, Garlic, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithins)

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E160c Paprika extract , E322 Lecithins

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

Potato Starch, Palm Oil, Salt, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin (B3), Thiamin (B1)), Dextrose, Yeast Extract (contains Barley), Colours (Ammonia Caramel, Paprika Extract), Flavourings (contains Wheat), Chicken Powder 1%, Dried Onion, Dried Sage, Garlic Powder, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithins).

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.

  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
2 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 50 dehydrated sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 38th. 96% of the dehydrated 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 50 dehydrated sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054781312796, 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.