Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Katsu Curry Sauce ultra-processed?

Curry sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Katsu Curry Sauce

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:

  • 40 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed curry 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, Coconut 7%, Modified Maize Starch, Onion, Ginger 3%, Tomato Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Garlic Purée, Dried Onion, Salt, Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Sugar, Wheat, Soya Beans, Wheat, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)), Coriander, Cumin, Fennel, Acidity Regulators (Lactic Acid), Citric Acid, Turmeric, Onion, Fenugreek, Chilli, Garlic, Ground Ginger, Turmeric Extract, Black Pepper, Cassia, Ground, Cardamom, Cloves, Bay Leaf, All 11 including cereals

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E260 Acetic acid , E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Water, Coconut (7%), Modified Maize Starch, Onion Purée, Ginger Purée (3%), Tomato Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Garlic Purée, Dried Onion, Salt, Soy Sauce (Water, Salt, Sugar, Roasted Wheat, Soya Beans, Wheat, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid), Ground Coriander, Ground Cumin, Ground Fennel, Acidity Regulators: Lactic Acid, Citric Acid; Ground Turmeric, Onion Powder, Ground Fenugreek, Chilli Powder, Garlic Powder, Ground Ginger, Turmeric Extract, Black Pepper, Ground Cassia, Ground - Cardamom, Ground Cloves, Ground Bay Leaf. All 11 including cereals

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.
4 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 89 curry sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 65th. 67% of the curry 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 89 curry sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00307048, 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.
  • 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.