Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Taste Of Hoisin Sauce ultra-processed?

Hoisin sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Taste Of Hoisin 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:

  • 44 ingredients
  • 3 additives

Less processed hoisin 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, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Sugar, Light Soy Sauce 5% (Soya (Water, Soya Beans, Salt, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Thiamin, Niacin)), Sugar, Salt, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)), Modified Maize Starch, Spirit Vinegar, Onion, Soy Beans 2% (Soya Beans), Salt, Garlic Purée 1.8%, Sesame Oil, Tomato Paste, Chinese Five Spices (Star Anise, Cinnamon, Fennel Seed, Black Pepper, Cloves), Plum, Ginger, Salt, Coriander, Chilli, Black Pepper, Colour (Plain Caramel), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), including Cereals containing Gluten

Additives: E150a Plain caramel , E260 Acetic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Water, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Sugar, 5% Light Soy Sauce (Soya Extract [Water, Soya Beans, Salt, Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Thiamin, Niacin)], Sugar, Salt, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid), Modified Maize Starch, Spirit Vinegar, Onion, 2% Soy Beans (Soya Beans), Salt), 1.8% Garlic Purée, Sesame Oil, Tomato Paste, Chinese Five Spices (Star Anise, Cinnamon, Fennel Seed, Black Pepper, Cloves), Concentrated Plum Juice, Ginger Purée, Salt, Ground Coriander, Chilli Powder, Ground Black Pepper, Colour: Plain Caramel; Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid. Allergy Advice: For allergens, including Cereals containing Gluten, see ingredients in bold. May also contain Nuts and Peanuts.

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.
  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn 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.

  • 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 oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 15 hoisin sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 14th. 87% of the hoisin 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 15 hoisin sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4056489240259, 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.