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Is Trader Joe's Tempura Shrimp with Soy Dipping Sauce ultra-processed?

16 oz (1 lb) 454 g Frozen seafood Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Tempura Shrimp with Soy Dipping 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:

  • 25 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed frozen seafood

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

shrimp, tempura batter (water, food starch, wheat flour, corn starch, rice flour, corn, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate), sodium bicarbonate, salt), soybean oil, sauce ingredients (water), sugar, soy sauce (water, soybeans, wheat, salt), glucose syrup, modified tapioca starch, salt, yeast extract

Additives: E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

SHRIMP, TEMPURA BATTER (WATER, FOOD STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CORN STARCH, RICE FLOUR, CORN POWDER, LEAVENING [SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, SODIUM BICARBONATE], SALT), SOYBEAN OIL. SAUCE INGREDIENTS: WATER, SUGAR, SOY SAUCE (WATER, SOYBEANS, WHEAT, SALT), GLUCOSE SYRUP SOLIDS, MODIFIED TAPIOCA STARCH, SALT, YEAST EXTRACT. CONTAINS WHEAT, SOY, SHRIMP.

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.

  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • 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.
5 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 90 frozen seafood

From least to most processed, this one ranks 68th. 79% of the frozen seafood 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 90 frozen seafood, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00634045, last edited 16 December 2025), 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.