Is Asda smooth bolognese pasta sauce ultra-processed?

Bolognese sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
Hydrogenated fat
Modified starch

16 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score A

Less processed bolognese 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

Tomatoes 60%, Tomato Purée 20%, Water, Lemon Juice from concentrate, Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Herbs, Garlic Purée, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Onion, Black Pepper, contains naturally occurring sugars, ficial colours, flavours (ultra-processing marker), hydrogenated fat (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Tomatoes (60%), Tomato Purée Concentrate (20%), Water, Lemon Juice from concentrate, Modified Maize Starch, Salt, Herbs, Garlic Purée, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Onion Powder, Ground Black Pepper. *CONTAINS NATURALLY OCCURRING SUGARS. FICIAL COLOURS, FLAVOURS OR HYDROGENATED FAT.

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.

Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
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.

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.

Hydrogenated fat An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.

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 32 bolognese sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 30th. 50% of the bolognese 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 32 bolognese sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054070650646, last edited 17 April 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.