Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Santa Maria Bbq Sauce Smoky Hickory ultra-processed?

345g Barbecue sauces Sold in Sweden and Norway

Pack of Santa Maria Bbq Sauce Smoky Hickory

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:

  • 20 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed barbecue 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

Tomatpuré, socker, rörsocker strö 18%, ättika, äpplejuice, modifierad stärkelse, salt, vatten, färgämne (sockerkulör), vitlökspuré, vatten 0.5%, lökpulver, pepparrot, salt 0.1%, kryddor (spiskummin, chili), surhetsreglerande medel (citronsyra)

Additives: E14XX Modified Starch , E150a Plain caramel , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Tomatpuré, socker, rörsocker strö (18%), ättika, äpplejuice, modifierad stärkelse, salt, vatten, färgämne (sockerkulör), vitlökspuré, rökt vatten (0,5%), lökpulver, pepparrot, rökt salt (0,1%), kryddor (spiskummin, chili), surhetsreglerande medel (citronsyra).

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.

  • E14xx Modified Starch Modified starches (E1400 to E1452) are starches treated physically, with enzymes or chemically so that they thicken and hold up to heating, freezing or acidity better than ordinary starch.
  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • 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.
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 107 barbecue sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 70th. 86% of the barbecue 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 107 barbecue sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7311312009425, last edited 16 July 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.