Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Aldi Italian Dressing ultra-processed?

Salad dressings Sold in the United States

Pack of Aldi Italian Dressing

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:

  • 26 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed salad dressings

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

water, vegetable oil (soybean oil, canola oil), distilled vinegar, sugar, salt, contains less than 2% of garlic, onion, red bell pepper, maltodextrin, xanthan gum, spices, yeast extract, calcium disodium edta to protect flavor, natural flavor, lemon juice concentrate, caramel color, annatto (for color), dried, dist, sold exclusively by (aldi batavia), il 60510 aldi twice as nice empty before recycling best if used by date on neck label guarantee shake well, refrigerate

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E415 Xanthan gum

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

water, vegetable oil (soybean oil, canola oil), distilled vinegar, sugar, salt, contains less than 2% of garlic*, onion*, red bell pepper*, maltodextrin, xanthan gum, spices, yeast extract, calcium disodium edta to protect flavor, natural flavor, lemon juice concentrate, caramel color, annatto extract (for color), *dried, dist,, sold exclusively by: aldi batavia, il 60510 aldi twice as nice empty before recycling best if used by date on neck label guarantee shake well , refrigerate

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.

  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 252 salad dressings

From least to most processed, this one ranks 197th. 85% of the salad dressings 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 252 salad dressings, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4099100132182, last edited 9 April 2025), 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.