Is Annies pasta and cheddar ultra-processed?

1 oz Cheeses Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Whey

10 ingredients
No additives

Less processed cheeses

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

Pasta, Cheddar Cheese (processing marker), Whey (ultra-processing marker), Nonfat Milk, Butter (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Whole Milk, Sodium Phosphate, Annatto, Silicon Dioxide

As written on the pack

Organic Pasta, Dried Cheddar Cheese, Whey, Nonfat Milk, Butter, Salt, Cultured Whole Milk, Sodium Phosphate, Annatto Extract, Silicon Dioxide.

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

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.

4 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.

Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,224 cheeses

From least to most processed, this one ranks 780th. 38% of the cheeses 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 1,224 cheeses, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0013562133727, last edited 11 August 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.
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.