Is it ultra-processed?
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Is HEINZ HomeStyle Beef Gravy ultra-processed?

Dehydrated sauces Sold in the United States

Pack of HEINZ HomeStyle 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:

  • 29 ingredients
  • 5 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

Beef stock, water, modified corn starch, contains 2% and less of wheat flour, beef fat, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, butter (cream, salt), caramel color, beef, soy sauce (water, soybeans, wheat, salt), whey, yeast extract, sugar, dextrose, garlic powder, maltodextrin, soy lecithin, natural flavor, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, onion powder, black pepper

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

As written on the pack

Beef stock, water, modified corn starch, contains 2% or less of wheat flour, beef fat, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, butter (cream, salt), caramel color, beef, soy sauce (water, soybeans, wheat, salt), whey, yeast extract, sugar, dextrose, garlic powder, maltodextrin, soy lecithin, natural flavor (contains milk), disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, onion powder, black pepper.

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.

  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • 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.
  • E627 Disodium guanylate Disodium guanylate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • E631 Disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • 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.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
5 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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 50 dehydrated sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 48th. 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 0013000798006, last edited 28 September 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.