Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Bisto Beef gravy ultra-processed?

230 g Gravy Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Bisto Beef gravy

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 E

Less processed gravy

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

maltodextrin, potato starch, salt, vegetable oils (palm vegetable oils, rapeseed vegetable oils), flavour enhancers (msg, disorienting 5-ribonucleotides), colour (ammonia caramel), flavourings, sugar, beef extract (maltodextrin, beef extract), onion, emulsifier (soya lectin), potassium chloride, black pepper extract, onion oil, rosemary extract

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E392 Extracts of rosemary , E621 Monosodium glutamate

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

As written on the pack

maltodextrin, potato starch, salt, vegetable oils (palm, rapeseed), flavour enhancers (msg, disorienting 5-ribonucleotides), colour (ammonia caramel), flavourings, sugar, beef extract powder (maltodextrin, beef extract), onion powder, emulsifier (soya lectin), potassium chloride, black pepper extract, onion oil, rosemary extract.

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.
  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • 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.
  • Flavour enhancer Flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate (E621) strengthen savoury taste without adding a flavour of their own.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
4 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 34 gravy

From least to most processed, this one ranks 31st. 71% of the gravy 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 34 gravy, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000354922909, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.