Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Butter Chicken Sauce ultra-processed?

500g Indian-style sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Butter Chicken 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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed indian-style 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, Tomato Purée, Onion, Double Cream, Single Cream, Modified Maize Starch, Butter, Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Ginger, Cumin, Coriander, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Dried Garlic, Paprika, Xanthan Gum, Fenugreek, Paprika Extract, Cinnamon, Turmeric, Chilli, Cardamom, Cumin Seed, Allspice, Ginger, Nutmeg, Clove, Fennel, Dill, Mace, Black Pepper, 500ge

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Water, Tomato Purée, Onion, Double Cream (Milk) (4%), Single Cream (Milk) (4%), Modified Maize Starch, Butter (Milk) (3%), Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Ginger Purée, Cumin, Ground Coriander, Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid, Lactic Acid), Dried Garlic, Paprika, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Fenugreek, Colour (Paprika Extract), Cinnamon, Turmeric, Chilli Powder, Cardamom, Cumin Seed, Allspice, Ginger, Nutmeg, Clove, Fennel, Dill, Mace, Black Pepper. Allergy Advice For allergens, see ingredients in bold. Suitable for vegetarians 500ge

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.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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 33 indian-style sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 26th. 73% of the indian-style 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 33 indian-style sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5052320653287, last edited 16 August 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.