Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Wagamama Katsu curry ultra-processed?

190g Meal kits Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Wagamama Katsu curry

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:

  • 89 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed meal kits

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

Katsu Paste (Made in the UK, Water), Onion, Dark Soy Sauce 10% (Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Ginger 6%, Demerara Sugar, Modified Maize Starch, Garlic Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Turmeric, Sugar, Coriander, Salt, Rice Flour, Citric Acid, Plain Caramel, Onion Powder, Fenugreek, Cumin, Tomato Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon, Yeast Extract, Dextrose, Garlic Powder, Fennel, Bay Leaf, Natural Flavouring, Chillies, Mango, Ginger, Black Pepper, Cassia, Cardamom, Turmeric Extract, Cloves, Fenugreek Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Green Cardamom, Star Anise, Oregano, Nutmeg, Panko Breadcrumbs (Made in the UK, Fortified Wheat Flour, Wheat Flour), Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin, Wheat Dextrose, Salt Salad Dressing (Made in the UK, Rapeseed Oil), Water, Rice Vinegar, Light Soy Sauce 10% (Water, Soy (Water, Soybean, Salt), Salt, Glucose, Spirit Vinegar), Spirit Vinegar, Dark Soy Sauce 8% (Water, Salt, Plain Caramel, Sugar, Soybean, Wheat), Sugar, Shallots 5%, Ginger, Garlic Purée, Salt, Tomato Purée, Modified Maize Starch, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, White Pepper

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E150a Plain caramel , E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E202 Potassium sorbate , E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Katsu Paste (Made in the UK): Water, Onion Purée, Dark Soy Sauce (10%) [Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt], Ginger Purée (6%), Demerara Sugar, Modified Maize Starch, Garlic Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Turmeric, Sugar, Coriander, Salt, Rice Flour, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Colour (Plain Caramel), Onion Powder, Fenugreek, Cumin, Tomato Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon, Yeast Extract, Dextrose, Garlic Powder, Fennel, Bay Leaf, Natural Flavouring, Chillies, Mango Powder, Ginger, Black Pepper, Cassia, Cardamom, Turmeric Extract, Cloves, Fenugreek Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Green Cardamom, Star Anise, Oregano, Nutmeg. Panko Breadcrumbs (Made in the UK): Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Wheat Dextrose, Salt Salad Dressing (Made in the UK): Rapeseed Oil, Water, Rice Vinegar, Light Soy Sauce (10%) (Water, Soy Extract (Water, Soybean, Salt), Salt, Glucose, Spirit Vinegar), Spirit Vinegar, Dark Soy Sauce (8%) (Water, Salt, Colour (Plain Caramel), Sugar, Soybean, Wheat), Sugar, Shallots (5%), Ginger Purée, Garlic Purée, Salt, Tomato Purée, Modified Maize Starch, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), White Pepper.

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E150a Plain caramel Plain caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars.
  • E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
6 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.
  • Meal kits Products in the category "Meal kits" are at least group 3.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 20 meal kits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 17th. 75% of the meal kits 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 20 meal kits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5039303005738, last edited 19 August 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.