Is Tesco Smooth Bolognese Sauce ultra-processed?

500 g Bolognese sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

It's processed, but not ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Whole foods combined with:

Salt
Sugar
Vegetable oil

11 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed pasta 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

Tomato Puree 56%, Tomato 34%, Sugar (processing marker), Onion, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Sunflower Oil (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Onion, Cornflour, Herbs, Garlic Puree

As written on the pack

Partially Reconstituted Tomato Puree (56%), Tomato (34%), Sugar, Onion, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Sunflower Oil, Salt, Onion Powder, Cornflour, Herbs, Garlic Puree.

What makes it processed

Culinary ingredients

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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 32 bolognese sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 4th. 50% of the bolognese 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 32 bolognese sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5053526984939, last edited 30 April 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.