Green chili paste
Unknown brand
Processing
4
Ultra-processed
Group 4 of 4 on the NOVA scale
Additives listed
4
1 we grade moderate or higher
2 of them not yet assessed here
Nutrients
–
Nothing above the low band
Or no figures recorded at all
Three separate readings, kept apart on purpose. This is not a score, and none of it says this product is harmful.
Additives (4)
This label lists 2 colours, 1 acidity regulator and 1 preservative.
E102
Tartrazine
Yellow colour
What it is. A synthetic lemon yellow dye.
Why it is used. Colours soft drinks, sweets, sauces and snacks.
What the evidence says. One of the Southampton Six colours linked in a 2007 UK study to increased hyperactivity in some children. The effect is modest and does not affect every child, but it was enough for a mandatory on pack warning.
UK and EU require the label to warn it may affect activity and attention in children. Permitted in the US without that warning.
Assessed against UK FSA, EFSA. Full entry for E102
E211
Sodium benzoate
Preservative
What it is. A preservative that stops yeasts, moulds and some bacteria growing in acidic foods.
Why it is used. Used in soft drinks, sauces, pickles and dressings.
What the evidence says. EFSA re-evaluated it in 2016 and kept an acceptable daily intake, with normal exposure below it. The known issue is specific: in acidic drinks that also contain vitamin C, benzoate can form small amounts of benzene, so manufacturers reformulated to avoid the combination. It was also present in the drink mixes used in the Southampton hyperactivity study, though the warning requirement that followed applies to the colours rather than to benzoate.
Permitted with maximum levels in the foods where it is allowed.
Assessed against EFSA, UK FSA. Full entry for E211
Also on the label, not assessed here yet
- E133 Brilliant blue FCF colour
- E260 Acetic acid acidity regulator
Names and jobs come from the register of additives permitted in Great Britain, which we have not finished transcribing: a code shown without a name is a gap in our coverage, not a finding that it is unapproved. Naming one is not grading it either. Full detail appears only where we have an assessment against a named authority, so all of this describes our coverage rather than these additives. Most are common and low concern.
Ingredients
green chilli, salt, x-anthen gun acetic acid (e 260), sodium benzoate, soyabean oil, food color 102 e - 133)/fd&c yellow no. 5 blue 1. indhold: grønne chilli, salt, x-anthen gum eure acid (e-260), sodium benzoate, soyabean oil, marlors(e-102 e - 133)/fd&c yellow no. 5 blue 1. ingredients: vert chilli, sel, x-anthen encolle acétique acide e-260), sodium benzoate, soyabean lubrifie, nourriture colore e-102 e-133)/fd&c yellow no. 5 blue 1, zutaten: grün chilli, salz, x-anthen gummiert, essigsauer säure (e-260), sodium benzoate, soyabean einzuschmieren essen anzumalen (e-102 e-133)/fd&c yellow no. 5 blue 1. ingredienti: verde chilli, sale, x-anthen ingomma, acetico
As printed on the pack, in the producer's own order: ingredients are listed by weight, so what comes first is most of what is in it. E numbers link to their assessment where we have one.