Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Aldi Cheese and chive dip ultra-processed?

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Pack of Aldi Cheese and chive dip

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:

  • 32 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

nut mayonnaise 55% (Water, Rapeseed Oil, Spirit Vinegar, Egg Powder, Maize Starch, Sugar, Salt, Citrus Fibre (Lemon, Lime), Rice Starch, Egg White Powder, Potato Fibre), soured cream 25%, red mature cheddar cheese 6% (Cheddar Cheese, Colour, Carotenes, Anticaking Agent (Potato Starch)), Onion, vintage cheddar cheese, 5%5, chive 19%, Rapeseed Ol, Cornflour, Salt, Sugar, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate, TY En ALLERGY ADVICE)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E202 Potassium sorbate

As written on the pack

NUT MAYONNAISE (55%) (Water, Rapeseed Oil, Spirit Vinegar, Egg Powder, Maize Starch, Sugar, Salt, Citrus Fibre (Lemon, Lime), Rice Starch, Egg White Powder, Potato Fibre), SOURED CREAM (25%) (Milk), RED MATURE CHEDDAR CHEESE (6%) (Cheddar Cheese (Milk), Colour. Carotenes; Anticaking Agent: Potato Starch), Onion, VINTAGE CHEDDAR CHEESE (5%5 (Milk), CHIVE (19%), Rapeseed Ol, Cornflour, Salt, Sugar, Preservative: Potassium Sorbate. TY En ALLERGY ADVICE: For allergens, see ingredients in bold. DIETARY ADVICE: Suitable for vegetarians. No artificial colours or flavourings.

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

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.

  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
7 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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600258393, last edited 27 March 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.