Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce ultra-processed?

18 oz (510g) Barbecue sauces Sold in the United States and Mexico

Pack of Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 4 additives

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

high fructose corn syrup, vinegar, water, tomato puree (water, tomato paste), molasses, modified food starch, salt, maltodextrin, natural smoke flavor, dried onion, mustard seed, caramel color, spices, paprika, dried garlic, paprika extract, stevia leaf extract, natural flavor, potassium sorbate

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E160c Paprika extract , E202 Potassium sorbate , E960 Steviol glycosides

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

As written on the pack

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, VINEGAR, WATER, TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE) MOLASSES, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, SALT, MALTODEXTRIN, NATURAL SMOKE FLAVOR, DRIED ONION, MUSTARD SEED FLOUR, CARAMEL COLOR, SPICES, PAPRIKA, DRIED GARLIC, PAPRIKA EXTRACT, STEVIA LEAF EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVOR, POTASSIUM SORBATE

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.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E960 Steviol glycosides Steviol glycosides are sweet compounds extracted and purified from the leaves of the stevia plant.
  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 107 barbecue sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 105th. 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 0021000052288, last edited 17 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.