Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Green Thai Curry Paste ultra-processed?

200g Green curry pastes Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Green Thai Curry Paste

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed green curry pastes

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, Green Pepper 14%, Onion, Green Chilli 8%, Modified Maize Starch, Lemongrass, Garlic Purée, Ginger, Lime Juice from Concentrate, Sugar, Kaffir Lime Leaf, Coriander, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Cumin, Coriander, Potassium Chloride, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Flavouring, Maltodextrin

Additives: E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Water, Green Pepper (14%), Onion, Green Chilli (8%), Modified Maize Starch (Sulphites), Lemongrass, Garlic Purée, Ginger Purée, Lime Juice from Concentrate (Sulphites) Sugar (Sulphites), Kaffir Lime Leaf, Coriander, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Cumin, Ground Coriander, Potassium Chloride, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Flavouring, Maltodextrin.

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.

  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down 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 14 green curry pastes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 13th. 36% of the green curry pastes 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 14 green curry pastes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057545735503, last edited 9 May 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.