Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Tesco Sweet chilli and garlic sauce ultra-processed?

Sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Sweet chilli and garlic 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:

  • 19 ingredients
  • No additives
  • Nutri-Score E

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

Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Water, Spirit Vinegar, Garie Purée 4%, Modified Maize Starch, Salt, Dried Garlic, Birdseye Chilli 10.7%, Red Pepper, Chill Flakes 10.4%, Preservative Potassium Sorbatel Recycling BOTTLE Recycle 250ml e Tesco Stores Ltd, Welwyn Garden City ALT YGA, UK Tesco Ireland Ltd, Gresham House, Marine Road, Dun Laghaire Co, Dublin Tesco 2020, sc0918 557753 91319

As written on the pack

Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Water, Spirit Vinegar, Garie Purée (4%), Modified Maize Starch, Salt, Dried Garlic, Birdseye Chilli 10.7%), Red Pepper, Chill Flakes 10.4%), Preservative Potassium Sorbatel Suitable for vegans Recycling BOTTLE Recycle 250ml e Tesco Stores Ltd, Welwyn Garden City ALT YGA, UK Tesco Ireland Ltd, Gresham House, Marine Road, Dun Laghaire Co. Dublin Tesco 2020. SC0918 557753 91319

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.

  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
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 2,962 sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 2141st. 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 2,962 sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5057753913199, last edited 27 March 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.