Is INSPIRED TO COOK by Sainsbury's Thai Inspired Red Curry Spice Paste ultra-processed?

Curry pastes Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
E160c Paprika extract

30 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed curry pastes

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

Water, Lemongrass 6%, Garlic Purée, Red Chilli Paste 4.5% (Red Chilli, Salt (processing marker), Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)), Onion 3.5%, Modified Maize Starch Tomato Paste, Sugar (processing marker), Rapeseed Oil, Galangal, Lime Leaf, Red Chilli 2%, Fish Sauce (processing marker) (Anchovy (Encrasicholina heteroloba), Salt (processing marker), Sugar (processing marker)), Thai Basil, Coriander Leaf, Lime Juice, Coriander, Cumin, Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Paprika Extract (ultra-processing marker)), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Cardamom

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E260 Acetic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Water, Lemongrass (6%), Garlic Purée, Red Chilli Paste (4.5%) (Red Chilli, Salt, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid), Onion (3.5%), Modified Maize Starch Tomato Paste, Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Galangal, Lime Leaf, Red Chilli Flakes (2%), Fish Sauce (Anchovy (Encrasicholina heteroloba) (Fish), Salt, Sugar), Thai Basil, Coriander Leaf, Concentrated Lime Juice, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Colour: Paprika Extract: Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid; Cardamom Powder.

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.

E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

3 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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 77 curry pastes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 64th. 43% of the curry pastes 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 77 curry pastes, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01850277, last edited 15 April 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.