Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsbury's Oyster sauce ultra-processed?

150 ml Oyster sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsbury's Oyster 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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed oyster 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, Oyster 5% (Water, Oyster (Ostrea edulis), Salt), Modified Corn Starch, Salt, Colour (Plain Caramel), Acidity Regulator (Lactic Acid), Yeast Extract, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum)

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E202 Potassium sorbate , E270 Lactic acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Water, Sugar, Oyster Extract (5%) (Water, Oyster (Ostrea edulis) (Mollusc), Salt), Modified Corn Starch, Salt, Colour: Plain Caramel; Acidity Regulator: Lactic Acid; Yeast Extract, Preservative: Potassium Sorbate; Stabiliser: Xanthan Gum.

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.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.
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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 13 oyster sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 12th. 77% of the oyster 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 13 oyster sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00414463, 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.