Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Aldi Cheese Puffs ultra-processed?

10 x 18 g Puffed salty snacks made from maize Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Aldi Cheese Puffs

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:

  • 15 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed puffed salty snacks made from maize

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

maize, rapeseed oil, lactose, whey powder, cheese powder, rice flour, salt, potassium chloride, flavouring, emulsifier (mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids), colour (paprika extract), flavour enhancer (disodium 5'-ribonucleotides)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide

As written on the pack

maize, rapeseed oil, lactose (milk), whey powder (milk), cheese powder (milk), rice flour, salt, potassium chloride, flavouring, emulsifier: mono - and diglycerides of fatty acids, colour: paprika extract, flavour enhancer: disodium 5'-ribonucleotides,

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.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E635 Disodium 5'-ribonucleotide A food additive authorised for industrial food production.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavour enhancer Flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate (E621) strengthen savoury taste without adding a flavour of their own.
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  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • 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.
3 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.

  • Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 21 puffed salty snacks made from maize

From least to most processed, this one ranks 20th. 86% of the puffed salty snacks made from maize 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 21 puffed salty snacks made from maize, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4088600272610, 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.