Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sharwood's kung Po sauce ultra-processed?

425g Cooking Sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sharwood's kung Po 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:

  • 17 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed cooking 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, barley malt vinegar, water chestnut 6%, dried glucose syrup, red pepper 4%, tomato purée, modified starch, concentrated pineapple juice, ginger, salt, garlic purée, sesame oil, red chillies 0.7%, red chilli, red chilli purée, paprika extract

Additives: E14XX Modified Starch , E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

water, sugar, barley malt vinegar, water chestnut 6%, dried glucose syrup, red pepper 4%, tomato purée, modified starch, concentrated pineapple juice, ginger purée, salt, garlic purée, sesame oil, chopped red chillies 0.7%, red chilli flakes, red chilli purée, paprika extract

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.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • 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.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 36 cooking Sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 34th. 67% of the cooking 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 36 cooking Sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000197156714, last edited 18 September 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.