Is Melinda's Creamy Style Ghost Pepper Wing Sauce and Condiment ultra-processed?

12 fl oz Hot sauces Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
E415 Xanthan gum

15 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score E

Less processed hot sauces

Mexican hot sauce Salsa Tamazula S.A. De C.V. 7 ingredients · 1 additive NOVA group 3
Salsa Picante Valentina 6 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce Frank's RedHot 5 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
16000085 Tabasco Pepper Sauce Mc. Ilhenny Co. 3 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3

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, White Vinegar, Habanero Pepper Mash, Cayenne Pepper Mash, Carrot, Bhut Jolokia Pepper Mash (Ghost Pepper Mash), Canola Vegetable Oil, White Onion, Lime Juice, Salt (processing marker), Garlic, Xanthan Gum (ultra-processing marker), Natural Flavour (ultra-processing marker) (Butter)

Additives: E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Water, White Vinegar, Habanero Pepper Mash, Cayenne Pepper Mash, Carrot, Bhut Jolokia Pepper Mash (Ghost Pepper Mash) (5%), Canola Vegetable Oil, White Onion, Lime Juice, Salt, Garlic, Thickener (Xanthan Gum), Natural Flavour (Butter).

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.

E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

1 ingredient 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 185 hot sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 108th. 70% of the hot 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 185 hot sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0850003113036, last edited 12 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.
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.