Is Uncle Ben's Bens Sauce Medium Curry 440g ultra-processed?

Curry sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Modified starch

16 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed curry 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, tomatoes, onion 13%, red pepper 6%, sugar (processing marker), modified maize starch (ultra-processing marker), coconut 2.8%, sunflower oil (processing marker), spices, curry powder salt, onion, acidity regulators (lactic acid, citric acid), ginger, garlic

Additives: E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

water, tomatoes, onion (13%), red pepper (6,0%), sugar, modified maize starch, coconut (2,8%), sunflower oil, spices, curry powder salt, onion powder (roasted), acidity regulators (lactic acid, citric acid), ginger, garlic,

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.

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.

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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 89 curry sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 42nd. 67% of the curry 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 89 curry sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4002359014741, last edited 28 February 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.