Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Red Thai Curry ultra-processed?

340 g Sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Red Thai Curry

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:

  • 32 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed 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, Coconut 11%, Red Pepper 5%, Onion, Modified Maize Starch, Sugar, Rice Vinegar, Fish Sauce (Anchovy, Salt, Sugar), Bamboo Shoot, Water Chestnut, Lemongrass, Chilli, Coriander Leaf, Dried Garlic, Salt, Rapeseed Oil, Lime Leaf, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Colour (Paprika Extract), Ginger, Garlic, Galangal, Shallot, Makrut Lime Leaf, Coriander, Cardamom, Cumin

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Water, Coconut (11%), Red Pepper (5%), Onion, Modified Maize Starch, Sugar, Rice Vinegar, Fish Sauce [Anchovy Extract (Fish), Salt, Sugar], Bamboo Shoot, Water Chestnut, Lemongrass, Chilli Powder. Coriander Leaf, Dried Garlic, Salt, Rapeseed Oil, Lime Leaf, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Colour (Paprika Extract), Ginger, Garlic, Galangal, Shallot, Makrut Lime Leaf, Coriander, Cardamom, Cumin.

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.
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 2,964 sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 2292nd. 60% of the 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 2,964 sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057753892357, last edited 31 July 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.