Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Bisto Chicken Gravy Granules ultra-processed?

350 g Dehydrated sauces Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Bisto Chicken Gravy Granules

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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 3 additives

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, maltodextrin, palm oil sat wheat flour, with added calcium, iron, niacin, thiamin favourings, sugar, flavour enhancers (e52 e635), colour (e150c), emulsifier (e322), contains soyal allergy advice, including cereals containing gluten, trademarks, designs and logos appearing on this pack are owned by the premier foods group if you have any problems please keep the nhone 0800 234 6328

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E322 Lecithins , E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel, E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide.

As written on the pack

potato starch, maltodextrin, palm oil sat wheat flour (with added calcium, iron, niacin, thiamin favourings (contain milk), sugar, flavour enhancers (e52 e635), colour (e150c), emulsifier (e322) (contains soyal allergy advice: for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold. trademarks, designs and logos appearing on this pack are owned by the premier foods group if you have any problems please keep the nhone 0800 234 6328

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.
  • 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.
  • E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide A food additive authorised for industrial food production.
  • 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.

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.
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 50 dehydrated sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 32nd. 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 5000354904813, last edited 17 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.