Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Smoky ketchup ultra-processed?

Ketchup Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Smoky ketchup

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:

  • 12 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed ketchup

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, tomato paste 30%, Demerara Sugar, Red Wine Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Colour (Plain Caramel), Modified Maize Starch, Smoke Flavourings, Paprika, Cloves

Additives: E150a Plain caramel

As written on the pack

Water, TOMATO PASTE (30%), Demerara Sugar, Red Wine Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Colour: Plain Caramel; Modified Maize Starch, Smoke Flavourings, Ground Paprika, Ground Cloves. DIETARY ADVICE: Suitable for vegans. NUTRITION TYPICAL VALUES Energy Fat

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.

  • 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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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 157 ketchup

From least to most processed, this one ranks 153rd. 54% of the ketchup 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 157 ketchup, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600560564, last edited 27 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.