Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Dolmio Stir in pasta sauce Pepperoni & Tomato ultra-processed?

Pasta sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Dolmio Stir in pasta sauce Pepperoni & Tomato

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:

  • 29 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed pasta 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 44%, red pepper 15%, pepperoni 10% (pork meat, pork fat, salt, dextrose, spices, natural flavouring, garlic, antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), preservative (sodium nitrite)), tomato paste 8.9%, onion, sunflower oil, sugar, modified maize starch, olive oil, basil 1%, parsley 1%, garlic, salt, chilli paste 0.4% (chillies, salt), spices, ade in eu 150g eo 5 010034"595002

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E301 Sodium ascorbate

As written on the pack

tomatoes (44%), red pepper (15%), pepperoni (10%) (pork meat, pork fat, salt, dextrose, spices, natural flavouring, garlic powder, antioxidant (sodium ascorbate), preservative (sodium nitrite)), tomato paste (8.9%), onion, sunflower oil, sugar, modified maize starch, olive oil, basil (1.0%), parsley (1.0%), garlic, salt, chilli paste (0.4%) (chillies, salt), spices. ade in eu 150g eo 5 010034"595002

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.

  • 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.
6 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.

  • E250 Sodium nitrite Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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 317 pasta sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 295th. 49% of the pasta 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 317 pasta sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5010034595002, last edited 31 May 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.