Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Kraft Slow-Simmered Hint of Honey Barbecue Sauce ultra-processed?

18 oz (1 lb 2 oz) 510 g Barbecue sauces Sold in the United States, Bolivia and France

Pack of Kraft Slow-Simmered Hint of Honey 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:

  • 19 ingredients
  • 1 additive

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, tomato puree (water, tomato paste), apple cider vinegar, modified food starch, molasses, salt, honey 2%, natural hickory smoke flavor, mustard, spices, dried onion, paprika, dried garlic, natural flavor, potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness)

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate

As written on the pack

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, VINEGAR, TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, MOLASSES, SALT, 2% HONEY, NATURAL HICKORY SMOKE FLAVOR, MUSTARD FLOUR, SPICES, DRIED ONION, PAPRIKA, DRIED GARLIC, NATURAL FLAVOR, POTASSIUM SORBATE (TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS).

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.

  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • 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.
  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • 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 77th. 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 0021000052387, last edited 25 March 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.