Is Spice Magic Jalfrezi curry sauce and spice ultra-processed?

360g 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:

Colour
Modified starch

60 ingredients
1 additive
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

Per 100g Sauce 97%, Water, Tomato Paste, Red Pepper 6%, Rapeseed Oil, Ground cal Onion 11%, Tomato 10%, Green Pepper 1.2g Spices (Cumin, Turmeric, Coriander, Paprika, Mg Cassia, Black Pepper, Star Anise, Ginger, Green Cardamom, Pimento, Black Cardamom, Clove, Bay Leaf, Nutmeg), Sugar (processing marker), Desiccated 18g Coconut, Jalapeno Pepper (Jalapeno Pepper, Salt (processing marker), Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)), Coconut Cream 1% (Coconut, Water), Ginger, Garlic Puree, Coriander Leaf, Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Tamarindcentrate, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Spi Cap 3% (Salt (processing marker), Rice Flour, Cumin, Papriturmeric, Sugar Coriander, Fenugreek, Ca Carda om, Cinnamon, Colour (ultra-processing marker) (Pa Flaving), Nutmeg, Clove, B Turme Extract, Fennel), Recycle A Recycle 1 Pepper, Extract (Pepper), May be produced in a factory that handles Nuts, Pear, Sesame

Additives: E260 Acetic acid

As written on the pack

Per 100g Sauce (97%) (Water, Tomato Paste (12%) 6.5g (6%), Red Pepper (6%), Rapeseed Oil, Ground cal Onion (11%), Tomato (10%), Green Pepper 1.2g Spices (Cumin, Turmeric, Coriander, Paprika, Mg Cassia, Black Pepper, Star Anise, Ginger, 4.2g Green Cardamom, Pimento, Black Cardamom, 21g Clove, Bay Leaf, Nutmeg), Sugar, Desiccated 18g Coconut, Jalapeno Pepper (Jalapeno Pepper, 1.5g Salt, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid), Coconut Cream (1%) (Coconut Extract, Water), Ginger Puree, Garlic Puree, Coriander Leaf, Modified Maize Starch, Salt, Tamarindcentrate, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Spi Cap (3%) (Salt, Rice Flour, Cumin, Papriturmeric, Sugar Coriander, Fenugreek, Ca Carda om, Cinnamon, Colour: Pa Flaving, Nutmeg, Clove, B Turme Extract, Fennel). Recycle A Recycle 1 Pepper, Extract: Pepper, May be produced in a factory that handles Nuts. Pear and 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.

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 89 curry sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 58th. 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 5055159504560, 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.