Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco soy garlic stir fry ultra-processed?

Soy sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco soy garlic stir fry

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 soy 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, Soy Sauce 12%, Water, Salt, Colour, Plain caramel, sugar, soya beans, Wheat, Alcohol, Garlic 6%, Rice Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil, tomato puree, ginger, ginger, Red Chilli, Cornflour, Coriander, Caramelised Sugar, syrup

Additives: E150a Plain caramel

As written on the pack

Water, Soy Sauce (12%) [Water, Salt, Colour (Plain caramel, sugar, soya beans, Wheat, Alcohol, Garlic (6%), Rice Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil, tomato puree, ginger puree, ginger, Red Chilli, Cornflour, Coriander, Caramelised Sugar, syrup

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.
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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 94 soy sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 52nd. 60% of the soy 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 94 soy sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059697682346, last edited 29 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.