Is Encona Original hot pepper sauce ultra-processed?

220ml Hot sauces Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Modified starch
E1414 Acetylated distarch phosphate
E415 Xanthan gum

18 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed hot 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

habanero mash 64% (habanero peppers, scotch bonnet peppers, salt (processing marker), acid (acetic acid)), water, acid (acetic acid), salt (processing marker), onion, mustard, modified maize starch (ultra-processing marker) (e1414 (ultra-processing marker)), stabiliser (xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker)), habanero mash is from non-uk source, ✓

Additives: E1414 Acetylated distarch phosphate , E260 Acetic acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

HABANERO MASH (64%) (HABANERO PEPPERS, SCOTCH BONNET PEPPERS, SALT, ACID (ACETIC ACID)), WATER, ACID (ACETIC ACID), SALT, ONION POWDER, MUSTARD, MODIFIED MAIZE STARCH (E1414), STABILISER (XANTHAN GUM). ALLERGY ADVICE: FOR ALLERGENS, SEE INGREDIENTS IN BOLD. HABANERO MASH IS FROM NON-UK SOURCE. ✓

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.

E1414 Acetylated distarch phosphate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
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.

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 185 hot sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 157th. 70% of the hot 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 185 hot sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5012389900159, last edited 24 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.