Is Sainsbury's Thai red curry ultra-processed?

13 oz Curry 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:

Modified starch

27 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score E

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, red peppers 10%, onions, coconut 9%, ginger, garlic purée, modified maize starch (ultra-processing marker), lemon grass 2%, rapeseed oil, desiccated loconut, red curry paste (water, sunflower oil (processing marker), dried red lili, salt (processing marker), ginger, garlic, galangal, shallots, lemon gras, e acta), tomato purée, fish sauce (processing marker), anchovy extiact allergy advice (for ingredients in bold, jar widely recycled lid check loc r allergens), see

As written on the pack

water, red peppers (10%), onions, coconut (9%), ginger purée, garlic purée, modified maize starch, lemon grass (2.0%), rapeseed oil, desiccated loconut, red curry paste (water, sunflower oil, dried red lili, salt, ginger, garlic, galangal, shallots, lemon gras. e acta), tomato purée. fish sauce (anchovy extiact allergy advice: for ingredients in bold. jar widely recycled lid check loc r allergens, see

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.

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.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
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 32nd. 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 00307055, 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.