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Is M&S Food Black Bean And Garlic Stir Fry Sauce ultra-processed?

150g Vegetables Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of M&S Food Black Bean And Garlic 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:

  • 36 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed vegetables

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

Water Soft Brown Sugar Ginger Purée 6%, Black Soybeans 6% (Soybeans, Water, Salt, Wheatflour, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)), Rice Vinegar, Garlic Purée 4%, Salt, Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Red Chilli Purée, Soybeans, Chicken Stock (Water, Chicken Bones, Yeast Extract, Salt), Rice Wine, Broad Beans, Mushrooms, Barley Malt Extract, Yeast Extract, Vinegar, Mushrooms, Wheatflour, Black Pepper, Natural Flavouring, with Calcium, Iron, vitamins, vitamin B3, vitamin B1

Additives: E260 Acetic acid

As written on the pack

Water Soft Brown Sugar Ginger Purée (6%) - Black Soybeans (6%) (Soybeans, Water, Salt, Wheatflour, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid), Rice Vinegar, Garlic Purée (4%), Salt, Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Red Chilli Purée, Soybeans, Chicken Stock (Water, Chicken Bones, Yeast Extract, Salt). Rice Wine, Broad Beans, Concentrated Mushrooms, Barley Malt Extract, Yeast Extract, Vinegar, Dried Mushrooms, Wheatflour, Ground Black Pepper, Natural Flavouring, Fortified with Calcium, Iron, Vitamin B3 and B1

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.
2 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 602 vegetables

From least to most processed, this one ranks 524th. 18% of the vegetables 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 602 vegetables, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 29430734, last edited 12 April 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.