Is Old Bay Seasoning ultra-processed?

Aromatic plants Sold in the United Kingdom

It's processed, but not ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Whole foods combined with:

Salt
Sugar

19 ingredients
No additives

Less processed aromatic plants

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

Spices (Paprika, mustard, CELERY Seed, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Cloves, Coriander Seed, Nutmeg, Allspice), Salt (processing marker), Sugar (processing marker), Herbs (Bay Leaves, Thyme, Basil, Rosemary, Savory), Silicon Dioxide

As written on the pack

Spices (Paprika, MUSTARD Flour, CELERY Seed, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Cloves, Coriander Seed, Nutmeg, Allspice), Salt, Sugar, Herbs (Bay Leaves, Thyme, Basil, Rosemary, Savory), Silicon Dioxide.

What makes it processed

Culinary ingredients

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 39 aromatic plants

From least to most processed, this one ranks 29th. 23% of the aromatic plants 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 39 aromatic plants, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000225016980, 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.
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.