Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Tesco Sweet Chilli Sauce ultra-processed?

Hot sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco Sweet Chilli 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:

  • 15 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed hot 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, Sugar, Modified Maize Starch, Red Chilli 2%, Garlic, Acetic Acid, Onion, Salt, Garlic Puree, Red Pepper, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Sorbate, Chillies, Flavouring, Maltodextrin

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E260 Acetic acid

As written on the pack

Water, Sugar, Modified Maize Starch, Red Chilli (2%), Garlic, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Onion Puree, Salt, Garlic Puree, Dried Red Pepper, Potassium Chloride, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Dried Chillies, Flavouring, Maltodextrin. Suitable for vegans

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.
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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • 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 184 hot sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 148th. 70% of the hot 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 184 hot sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5054269746952, last edited 23 September 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.