Is Sainsbury's Tomato & Herb Bolognese Sauce ultra-processed?

500 g Tomato 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

14 ingredients
1 additive

Less processed tomato 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

Tomatoes 66%, Water, Tomato Purée 10%, Sugar (processing marker), Onions, Salt (processing marker), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Garlic Purée, Basil, Rapeseed Oil, Oregano, Black Pepper

Additives: E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Tomatoes (66%), Water, Tomato Purée (10%), Sugar, Onions, Salt, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid; Modified Maize Starch, Garlic Purée, Basil, Rapeseed Oil, Oregano, Ground Black Pepper.

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.

3 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 442 tomato sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 338th. 40% of the tomato 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 442 tomato sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01327229, last edited 19 May 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.