Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Free From vegetable gravy granules ultra-processed?

Gravy Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Free From vegetable gravy granules

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:

  • 10 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed gravy

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

Potato Starch, Palm Oil, Salt, Maltodextrin, Caster Sugar Hydrolysed Maize Protein, Dried Onion, Plain Caramel, Flavouring Sage, Parsley, Lecithin

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

Potato Starch, Palm Oil, Salt, Maltodextrin, Caster Sugar Hydrolysed Maize Protein, Dried Onion, Colour: Plain Caramel; Flavouring Sage, Parsley, Emulsifier: Lecithin. Suitable for coeliacs

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.
  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
2 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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 34 gravy

From least to most processed, this one ranks 18th. 71% of the gravy 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 34 gravy, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00399524, last edited 23 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.