Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Balti spice and sauce ultra-processed?

Indian-style sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Balti spice and 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:

  • 62 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed indian-style 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

SAUCE Water, Tomatoes 18%, Onions 16%, Tomato Paste, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Green Peppers 2.5%, Red Peppers 2.5%, Garlic Puree, Modified Maize Starch, Ginger, Garam Masala (Coriander, Cumin, Cassia, Black Pepper, Star Anise, Ginger, Green Cardomom, Pimento, Black Cardomom, Cloves, Bay Leaves, Nutmeg), Coriander, Coriander Leaf, Cumin, Ground Tumeric, Paprika, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Chilli, Black Pepper, Fenugreek, Ground Black Cardomom, SPICE CAP Salt, Coriander Seed, Sugar, Tomato, Tumeric, Onion, Dextrose, Flavouring, Rice Flower, Garlic, Colour (Curcumin), Chilli, Cumin, Ginger, Cayenne Pepper, Cassia, Cloves, Black Pepper, Fennel Seed, Fenugreek Seed, Bay Leaf, Mango, Cinammon, Oregano, Green Cardomom, Nutmeg

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

SAUCE Water, Tomatoes (18%), Onions(16%), Tomato Paste, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Green Peppers (2.5%), Red Peppers (2.5%), Garlic Puree, Modified Maize Starch, Ginger Puree, Garam Masala (Coriander, Cumin, Cassia, Black Pepper, Star Anise, Ginger, Green Cardomom, Pimento, Black Cardomom, Cloves, Bay Leaves, Nutmeg) Ground Coriander, Coriander Leaf, Ground Cumin, Ground Tumeric, Ground Paprika, Acidity Regulator:Citric Acid; Chilli Powder, Black Pepper, Ground Fenugreek, Ground Black Cardomom. SPICE CAP Salt, Coriander Seed, Sugar, Tomato Powder, Tumeric, Onion Powder, Dextrose, Flavouring, Rice Flower, Garlic Powder, Colour (Curcumin), Chilli Powder, Cumin, Ginger, Cayenne Pepper, Cassia, Cloves, Black Pepper, Fennel Seed, Fenugreek Seed, Bay Leaf, Mango Powder, Cinammon, Oregano, Green Cardomom, Nutmeg

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 33 indian-style sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 33rd. 73% of the indian-style 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 33 indian-style sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5055159503778, 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.