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Is 4C Seasoned Bread Crumbs with Pecorino Romano Cheese ultra-processed?

Bread crumbs Sold in the United States

Pack of 4C Seasoned Bread Crumbs with Pecorino Romano Cheese

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:

  • 41 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed bread crumbs

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

Toasted bread crumbs made from enriched bread (flour (niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil shortening (soybean, cottonseed oil), salt, yeast, whey, soy flour, malted barley flour, wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, rye flour, corn flour, oat bran, corn meal, rice flour, potato flour, nonfat dry milk, soy lecithin, calcium propionate (preservative), sesame seeds, caraway seeds), pecorino romano cheese (sheep's milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes (rennet)), salt, parsley, spices, onion, garlic

Additives: E282 Calcium propionate , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

Toasted bread crumbs made from enriched bread [enriched flour (contains wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil shortening (soybean and/or cottonseed oil), salt, yeast, whey, soy flour, malted barley flour, wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, rye flour, corn flour, oat bran, corn meal, rice flour, potato flour, nonfat dry milk, soy lecithin, calcium propionate (preservative), sesame seeds, caraway seeds], grated pecorino romano cheese [pasteurized sheep's milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes (rennet)], salt, dehydrated parsley flakes, spices, onion powder, garlic powder.

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
5 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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 37 bread crumbs

From least to most processed, this one ranks 36th. 54% of the bread crumbs 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 37 bread crumbs, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0041387406467, last edited 26 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.