Is G Hughes Smokehouse Sugar Free BBQ Sauce Original ultra-processed?

18 oz Barbecue sauces Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Modified starch
E150c Ammonia caramel
E415 Xanthan gum
E955 Sucralose

15 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed barbecue 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

vine-ripened crushed tomatoes (water, crushed tomatoes), cider vinegar, white vinegar, modified cornstarch (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), lemon juice concentrate, spices, dehydrated onion, caramel color, hickory smoke, garlic, xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker), sucralose (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E415 Xanthan gum , E955 Sucralose

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

As written on the pack

vine-ripened crushed tomatoes (water, crushed tomatoes), cider vinegar, white vinegar, modified cornstarch, salt, lemon juice concentrate, spices, dehydrated onion, caramel color, hickory smoke, garlic powder, xanthan gum, sucralose,

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.
E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
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 107 barbecue sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 68th. 86% of the barbecue 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 107 barbecue sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0026825000131, last edited 2 June 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.