Is Kinder’s kinders hickory brown sugar bbq sauce ultra-processed?

Barbecue sauces Sold in the United States

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

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

tomato puree (water, tomato paste), brown sugar (processing marker), molasses (processing marker), distilled vinegar, sugar (processing marker), corn starch (processing marker), salt (processing marker), worcestershire sauce (processing marker) (vinegar, corn syrup, water, salt (processing marker), caramel color, garlic, sugar (processing marker), spices, tamarind, natural flavor (ultra-processing marker)), natural smoke flavor (ultra-processing marker) (includes natural hickory smoke flavor), cultured dextrose, garlic, onion powder caramel color, red pepper, xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E415 Xanthan gum

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

As written on the pack

tomato puree (water, tomato paste), brown sugar, molasses, distilled vinegar, sugar, corn starch, salt, worcestershire sauce (vinegar molasses, corn syrup, water, salt, caramel color, garlic powder, sugar, spices, tamarind, natural flavor) natural smoke flavor (includes natural hickory smoke flavor), cultured dextrose, garlic powder, onion powder caramel color, ground red pepper, xanthan gum,

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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
4 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 107 barbecue sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 44th. 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 0755795759090, last edited 8 May 2025), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • 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.