Is Arla Cheddar ultra-processed?

150 Cheddar cheese Sold in Sweden

Pack of Arla Cheddar

It's processed, but not ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Whole foods combined with:

  • 9 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

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

mjölk, klumpförebyggande medel (processing marker) (potatisstärkelse (processing marker)), salt (processing marker), syrningskultur, löpe, konserveringmedel (e251 (processing marker)), e202 (processing marker)

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E251 Sodium nitrate

As written on the pack

Pastöriserad mjölk, klumpförebyggande medel: potatisstärkelse, salt, syrningskultur, löpe, konserveringmedel: E251, E202.

What makes it processed

Culinary ingredients

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

Preservation and traditional processing

Keep food safe or ferment it, like preservatives and cultures. A sign of processing, not ultra-processing.

  • 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.
  • E251 Sodium nitrate 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.

Category rules

Open Food Facts puts every product in this category in at least this group.

  • Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 155 cheddar cheese

From least to most processed, this one ranks 112th. 28% of the cheddar cheese 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 155 cheddar cheese, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7311870009448, last edited 2 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.