Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lee Kum Kee Hoisin Sauce ultra-processed?

443 mL, 567 g. Hoisin sauces Sold in the United States and Canada

Pack of Lee Kum Kee Hoisin 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:

  • 16 ingredients
  • 2 additives

Less processed hoisin 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

sugar, water, soybeans, salt, sweet potato, modified corn starch, sesame seeds, garlic, wheat flour, chili pepper, spices, caramel color, acetic acid, fd, c red color no, potassium sorbate added as a preservative

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E260 Acetic acid

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

As written on the pack

sugar, water, soybeans, salt, sweet potato, modified corn starch, sesame seeds, garlic, wheat flour, chili pepper, spices, caramel color, acetic acid, fd,c red color no, 40, potassium sorbate added as a preservative,

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.
  • 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.
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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 15 hoisin sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 5th. 87% of the hoisin 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 15 hoisin sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0742812700616, last edited 14 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.