Is Wagamama Firecracker Stir Fry Sauce ultra-processed?

120g Soy sauces Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Wagamama Firecracker Stir Fry 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:

  • 36 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed soy 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, Sriracha Chilli Sauce 25%, Chilli (Red Chilli 84%, Salt (processing marker), Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)), Sugar (processing marker), Water, Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum (ultra-processing marker)), Demerara Sugar (processing marker), Dark Soya Sauce (processing marker) (Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt (processing marker)), Rice Vinegar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup (ultra-processing marker), Modified Maize Starch (ultra-processing marker), Red Thai Chilli Paste 1.5% (Red Chilli, Salt (processing marker), Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)), Porcini Mushroom, Yeast Extract Powder (Yeast Extract (from Barley), Salt (processing marker)), Chilli 1%, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)

Additives: E260 Acetic acid , E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Water, Sriracha Chilli Sauce (25%) (Pickled Chilli (Red Chilli (84%), Salt, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid), Sugar, Water, Modified Maize Starch, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid; Stabiliser: Xanthan Gum), Demerara Sugar, Dark Soya Sauce (Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Rice Vinegar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Modified Maize Starch, Red Thai Chilli Paste (1.5%) (Red Chilli, Salt, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid), Porcini Mushroom, Yeast Extract Powder (Yeast Extract (from Barley), Salt), Crushed Chilli (1%), Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid.

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.

  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn 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.

  • 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 94 soy sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 83rd. 60% of the soy 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 94 soy sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5039303005684, last edited 19 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.