Is Specially Selected Jafrezi cooking sauce ultra-processed?

Curry 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:

Firming agent
Modified starch
E551 Silicon dioxide

55 ingredients
5 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed curry 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, onion 17%, tomato 15% (tomato, firming agent (ultra-processing marker) (calcium chloride), acidity regulator (citric acid)), tomato paste 10%, green pepper 7%, red pepper 7%, spice cap seasoning 3% (rice flour, sugar (processing marker), turmeric, paprika, cumin, cardamom, chili, fenugreek, fenugreek leaf, spice extracts, anti-caking agents (processing marker) (silicon dioxide (ultra-processing marker)), tricalcium phosphate, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, rapeseed oil), rapeseed oil, creamed coconut (processing marker) 1.5%, garam masala, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, clove, black pepper, dill, garlic purée, ginger, green chillies 1%, sugar (processing marker), cumin, coriander, salt (processing marker), coriander leaf, modified maize starch (ultra-processing marker), chilli, turmeric powder, paprika powder, acidity regulator (citric acid), chilli

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341iii Tricalcium phosphate , E509 Calcium chloride , E551 Silicon dioxide

As written on the pack

water, onion (17%), tomato (15%) (tomato, firming agent: calcium chloride, acidity regulator: citric acid), tomato paste (10%), green pepper (7%), red pepper (7%), spice cap seasoning (3%) (rice flour, sugar, turmeric, paprika, cumin, cardamom, chili, fenugreek, fenugreek leaf, spice extracts, anti-caking agents: silicon dioxide, tricalcium phosphate, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, rapeseed oil), rapeseed oil, creamed coconut (1,5%), garam masala powder (coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, clove, ground black pepper, dill, garlic purée, ginger purée, green chillies (1%), sugar, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, coriander leaf, modified maize starch , chilli powder, turmeric powder, paprika powder, acidity regulator: citric acid, chilli flakes

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.

E551 Silicon dioxide A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
Firming agent Firming agents keep fruit and vegetable tissue crisp or firm through processing and storage.
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.

5 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.

Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
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 fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 89 curry sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 72nd. 67% of the curry 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 89 curry sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600054292, 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.