A standard serving of Tesco Bolognese Pasta Sauce (88g) contains 34 kcal, 0.51g of salt and 4.66g of sugar. It is classified as NOVA 4 — ultra-processed food under the NOVA food processing system.
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Tesco Bolognese Pasta Sauce contains 39 kcal, 0.4g of fat (0.1g saturated), 6.9g of carbohydrate (5.3g sugar), 1.3g of protein and 0.58g of salt per 100g.
Tesco Bolognese Pasta Sauce sits below Dolmio Original on both calories (39 kcal vs 46 kcal per 100g) and salt (0.58g vs 0.69g per 100g), while containing a similar sugar level. The main formulation difference is tomato percentage (82% vs 83%) and the processing additives — both use modified maize starch. Figures from FatSecret UK and confirmed against the Action on Salt independent pasta sauce survey.
Tesco Bolognese Pasta Sauce is classified as NOVA 4 — ultra-processed food under the NOVA food processing system.
The following industrial additives are present in its ingredient list: modified maize starch. These ingredients are not present in a home-made equivalent of this sauce — they are used to achieve a consistent texture, extended shelf life, and flavour stability at industrial scale.
NOVA 4 classification does not automatically mean a food is harmful. The NHS Eatwell Guide does not use NOVA classifications, and processed convenience foods can form part of a balanced diet. The significance of the NOVA classification is that it gives a shorthand for identifying foods that have been engineered rather than cooked — useful context when evaluating the ingredient list alongside the nutrition numbers.
Supermarket own-brand pasta sauces are almost universally NOVA 4 — the modified maize starch and citric acid present in this sauce appear across virtually all ambient pasta sauces regardless of brand or price point. The NOVA classification is determined by the formulation of the product, not by its retail price or own-brand status.
Tesco Bolognese Pasta Sauce contains 0.58g of salt per 100g. A quarter-jar serving (88g) delivers 0.51g of salt, 9% of the adult daily limit of 6g.
At 0.58g of salt per 100g this is one of the lower-salt options in this guide. Action on Salt's independent survey of pasta sauces found that supermarket own-brand products averaged 0.86g of salt per 100g, 25% less than branded equivalents which averaged 1.17g per 100g.
Tesco Bolognese Pasta Sauce contains 5.3g of sugar per 100g. A quarter-jar serving (88g) delivers 4.66g of sugar. Tomatoes contain natural sugar (fructose), so some sugar content in any tomato-based sauce is expected. The key question is whether additional sugar has been added beyond what the tomatoes themselves provide.
The ingredient list for Tesco Bolognese Pasta Sauce includes added sugar. Tomatoes at peak ripeness contain around 2.5g to 3g of natural sugar per 100g — any total sugar content meaningfully above that reflects added sugar in the recipe. The amount of added sugar is not required to be declared separately on UK food labels, making it impossible to determine from the nutrition panel alone how much of the stated sugar is natural versus added.
Nutrition from official brand UK labels (Dolmio UK, Loyd Grossman UK, Sacla' UK, Napolina UK, Barilla UK), Action on Salt pasta sauce and pesto surveys (2009, 2017), Which? blind taste test 2023 (pesto), MadeForMums independent analysis, and UK supermarket product listings. NOVA classifications from ingredient lists at time of writing. For guidance only, not medical advice.