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Is Sharwood's Tikka Masala Mild Curry Sauce ultra-processed?

420 g Tikka masala sauce Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Sharwood's Tikka Masala Mild Curry 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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed tikka masala sauce

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, Tomatoes 32%, Yogurt 9%, Sugar, Double Cream 3.5%, Modified Maize Starch, Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Creamed Coconut, Ginger, Spices, Garlic Purée, Desiccated Coconut, Cumin, Coriander Leaf Salt, Whey Protein, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Acidity Regulator (Lactic Acid), Caraway Seeds, Black Pepper, Colour (Paprika Extract), Chilli

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E270 Lactic acid

As written on the pack

Water, Tomatoes (32%), Yogurt (9%) (Milk), Sugar, Double Cream (3.5%) (Milk), Modified Maize Starch, Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Creamed Coconut, Ginger Purée, Ground Spices, Garlic Purée, Desiccated Coconut, Ground Cumin, Coriander Leaf Salt, Whey Protein Concentrate (Milk), Concentrated Lemon Juice, Acidity Regulator (Lactic Acid), Caraway Seeds, Ground Black Pepper, Colour (Paprika Extract), Chilli Powder. May also contain sesame.

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.

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

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.

  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
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.

  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 20 tikka masala sauce

From least to most processed, this one ranks 13th. 90% of the tikka masala sauce 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 20 tikka masala sauce, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000197156868, last edited 16 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.