Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Marks & Spencers Brown Sauce ultra-processed?

493 g Brown sauces Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Marks & Spencers Brown 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:

  • 28 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed brown 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

Water, Sugar, Barley Malt Vinegar, Molasses 9%, Spirit Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Cornflour, Date 2%, Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Molasses, Soybeans, Barley Malt Vinegar, Wheatflour, Barley Malt Extract), Salt, Tamarind, Dried Onions, Allspice, Chillies, Barley Malt Extract, Rapeseed Oil, Black Pepper, Emulsifier (e433), Clove, Clove Flavouring

Additives: E433 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate

As written on the pack

Water, Sugar, Barley Malt Vinegar, Molasses (9%), Spirit Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Cornflour, Date Purée (2%), Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Molasses, Soybeans, Barley Malt Vinegar, Wheatflour, Barley Malt Extract), Salt, Tamarind, Dried Onions, Allspice, Dried Chillies, Barley Malt Extract, Rapeseed Oil, Ground Black Pepper, Emulsifier: E433, Clove Extract, Clove 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.

  • E433 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate Polysorbate 80 is a synthetic emulsifier used in ice cream and some sauces to keep fats evenly dispersed.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 19 brown sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 5th. 89% of the brown 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 19 brown sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00818872, last edited 27 June 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.