Is Ray's Barbecue Sauce ultra-processed?

Barbecue 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
E150c Ammonia caramel
E415 Xanthan gum
E955 Sucralose

22 ingredients
7 additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed barbecue 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, tomato paste, distilled vinegar, allulose, salt (processing marker), contains less than 2% of modified corn starch, apple cider vinegar, natural smoke flavor (ultra-processing marker), garlic, caramel color, natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), potassium sorbate (processing marker), sodium benzoate (preservativés (processing marker)), spice, xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker), mustard flour, paprika, onion.** sucralose, citric acid, sodium citrate, dried

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E202 Potassium sorbate , E211 Sodium benzoate , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E415 Xanthan gum , E955 Sucralose

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel, E955 Sucralose.

As written on the pack

water, tomato paste, distilled vinegar, allulose, salt, contains less than 2% of modified corn starch, apple cider vinegar, natural smoke flavor, garlic,** caramel color, natural flavor, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate (preservativés), spice, xanthan gum, mustard flour, paprika, onion.** sucralose. citric acid, sodium citrate. **dried.

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.

E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 107 barbecue sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 74th. 86% of the barbecue 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 107 barbecue sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0013409517420, last edited 11 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.