Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Spice Magic Tikka masala ultra-processed?

360g Tikka masala sauce Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Spice Magic Tikka masala

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:

  • 38 ingredients
  • 3 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

sauce (Water), Tomatoes 16%, Single Cream, Natural Yogurt, Onions 10%, Tomato Paste, Rapeseed Oil, Modified Maize Starch, Ginger, Sugar, Garlic Puree, Salt, Coriander Leaf, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Acidity Regulators (Lactic Acid), Citric Acid, Paprika, Turmeric, Cumin, Red Chilli, Colour (Paprika Extract, spice cap), Rice Flour, Paprika, Salt, Cumin, Dextrose, Coriander, Natural Flavourings Green Cardamom, Cassia, Colour (Paprika Extract), Cinnamon, Clove, Fenugreek Leaf

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

SAUCE: Water, Tomatoes (16%), Single Cream (Milk), Natural Yogurt (Milk), Onions (10%), Tomato Paste, Rapeseed Oil, Modified Maize Starch, Ginger Puree, Sugar, Garlic Puree, Salt, Coriander Leaf, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Acidity Regulators: Lactic Acid, Citric Acid; Ground Paprika, Ground Turmeric, Ground Cumin, Dried Red Chilli, Colour: Paprika Extract. SPICE CAP: Rice Flour, Paprika, Salt, Cumin, Dextrose, Coriander, Natural Flavourings Green Cardamom, Cassia, Colour: Paprika Extract, Cinnamon, Clove, Fenugreek Leaf.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as 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.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 20 tikka masala sauce

From least to most processed, this one ranks 18th. 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 5055159503754, 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.