Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lee Kum Kee Sichuan Style Hot and Spicy Stir-Fry Sauce ultra-processed?

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Pack of Lee Kum Kee Sichuan Style Hot and Spicy Stir-Fry 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:

  • 26 ingredients
  • No additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Chilli Peppers 24% (Chilli Peppers 19.2%, Salt), Walter, Soybean Paste (Water, Salt, Soybeans, Wheat Flour), Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Soybeans, Wheat Flour), Sugar, Tomato Paste, Sichuan Pepper 5%, Soybean Oil, Chilli Peppers 3%, Vinegar, Shallots, Modified Corn Starch, Garlic, Natural Chili Flavouring, Salt, Natural Sichuan Pepper Flavouring

As written on the pack

Salted Chilli Peppers 24% (Chilli Peppers 80%, Salt), Walter, Fermented Soybean Paste (Water, Salt, Soybeans, Wheat Flour), Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Soybeans, Wheat Flour), Sugar, Tomato Paste, Sichuan Pepper Powder 5%, Soybean Oil, Dried Chilli Peppers 3%, Fermented Vinegar, Shallots, Modified Corn Starch, Dehydrated Garlic, Natural Chili Flavouring, Salt, Natural Sichuan Pepper Flavouring.

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.

  • 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.
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.

  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0078895157109, last edited 27 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.
  • 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.