Is Trader Joe's Sriracha and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce ultra-processed?

Barbecue sauces Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E150c Ammonia caramel
E415 Xanthan gum

40 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed barbecue 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 (water, tomato paste), sugar (processing marker), jalapeno (red jalapeno peppers, sea salt (processing marker), distilled vinegar, calcium chloride), distilled vinegar, molasses (processing marker), natural hickory smoke flavor, garlic, cornstarch (processing marker), worcestershire sauce (processing marker) (distilled vinegar, molasses (processing marker), water, sugar (processing marker), sea salt (processing marker), caramel color, garlic, spices (allspice, nutmeg, clove, ginger), cayenne peppers, black pepper, xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker)), garlic puree (garlic, water), garlic, salt (processing marker), onion, caramel color, garlic, habanero pepper, xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E415 Xanthan gum

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

Organic tomato puree (water, organic tomato paste), organic sugar, organic jalapeno puree (organic red jalapeno peppers, sea salt, organic distilled vinegar, calcium chloride), organic distilled vinegar, organic molasses, natural hickory smoke flavor, organic roasted garlic, organic cornstarch, organic worcestershire sauce (organic distilled vinegar, organic molasses, water, organic sugar, sea salt, organic caramel color, organic garlic powder, organic spices [organic allspice, organic nutmeg,organic clove, organic ginger], organic cayenne peppers, organic black pepper, xanthan gum), organic garlic puree (organic garlic, water), organic garlic powder, salt, organic onion powder, organic caramel color, organic garlic, organic habanero pepper powder, xanthan gum.

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.

E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.

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 107 barbecue sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 29th. 86% of the barbecue 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 107 barbecue sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00537995, last edited 5 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 D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.