Is Wattie's BBQ Sauce with a Rich Flavour ultra-processed?

Barbecue sauces Sold in New Zealand

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Colour
Flavouring
E415 Xanthan gum

13 ingredients
3 additives

Less processed barbecue 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

tomatoes 74%, sugar (processing marker), salt (processing marker), food acid (acetic acid, citric acid), colour (ultra-processing marker) (caramel i), natural flavours (ultra-processing marker), vegetable gum (415), spices, smoke flavour (ultra-processing marker)

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

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E415 Xanthan gum.

As written on the pack

concentrated tomatoes (74%), sugar, salt, food acid (acetic acid, citric acid), colour (caramel i), natural flavours, vegetable gum (415, contains traces of soy), spices, smoke flavour.

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.
Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

2 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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 107 barbecue sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 46th. 86% of the barbecue 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 107 barbecue sauces, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9300657155599, last edited 11 September 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.
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.