Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Wagamama Pad thai sauce ultra-processed?

120 g Soy sauces Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Pack of Wagamama Pad thai 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:

  • 30 ingredients
  • 2 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, Sugar, Light Soy Sauce 10%, Soya (Water, Soybeans, Salt, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacín, Thiamin)), Sugar, Salt, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Dark Soy Sauce 10% (Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Tamarind M Concentrate 10%, Rice Vinegar, Malt Vinegar (from Barley), Tomato Paste, Modified Maize Starch, Colour (Paprika Extract)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E260 Acetic acid

As written on the pack

Water, Sugar, Light Soy Sauce (10%), (Soya Extract (Water, Soybeans, Salt, Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacín, Thiamin)), Sugar, Salt, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid), Dark Soy Sauce (10%) (Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Tamarind M Concentrate (10%), Rice Vinegar, Malt Vinegar (from Barley), Tomato Paste, Modified Maize Starch, Colour: Paprika Extract.

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.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.
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 74th. 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 5039303005677, last edited 19 April 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.