Is Sainsbury's Dark soy sauce ultra-processed?

150 mL Soy sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
E150a Plain caramel

14 ingredients
3 additives

Less processed soy 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 (processing marker), soya sauce (processing marker) 10% (water, soya beans, wheat, salt (processing marker)), salt (processing marker), colour (ultra-processing marker) (plain caramel (ultra-processing marker)), acidity regulator (lactic acid), preservative (processing marker) (potassium sorbate (processing marker))

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E202 Potassium sorbate , E270 Lactic acid

As written on the pack

water, sugar, soya sauce (10%) (water, soya beans, wheat , salt), salt, colour: plain caramel, acidity regulator: lactic acid, preservative: potassium sorbate

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.

E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

5 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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 94 soy sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 66th. 60% of the soy 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 94 soy sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01758726, last edited 5 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.