Is Ben & Jerry's Salted Caramel Brownie ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 29 ingredients
- 6 additives
- Nutri-Score D
Less processed ice cream tubs
-
strawberry ice cream
Häagen-Dazs
5 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
3
-
vanilla bean ice cream
Häagen-Dazs
6 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
3
-
chocolate ice cream
Häagen-Dazs
5 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
3
-
chocolate peanut butter ice cream
Häagen-Dazs
11 ingredients · no additives
NOVA group
3
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Cream, skim milk, liquid sugar (processing marker) (sugar water), water, sugar (processing marker), corn syrup (ultra-processing marker), soybean oil (processing marker), egg yolks, cocoa (ultra-processing marker), wheat flour, coconut oil (processing marker), butter (processing marker) (cream, salt (processing marker)), cocoa (ultra-processing marker), inverted sugar (ultra-processing marker), whole milk, eggs, sea salt (processing marker), egg whites, vanilla extract, guar gum (ultra-processing marker), carrageenan (ultra-processing marker), soy lecithin (ultra-processing marker), baking soda, salt (processing marker), natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), malted barley flour
Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E407 Carrageenan , E412 Guar gum , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate
As written on the pack
Cream, skim milk, liquid sugar (sugar water), water, sugar, corn syrup, soybean oil, egg yolks, cocoa, wheat flour, coconut oil, butter (cream, salt), cocoa (processed with alkali), inverted sugar, whole milk, eggs, sea salt, egg whites, vanilla extract, guar gum, carrageenan, soy lecithin, baking soda, salt, natural flavor, malted barley flour
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.
- E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
- E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
- E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
- 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.
- Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
- Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
- Cocoa An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
5 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.
- Ice creams Products in the category "Ice creams" are at least group 3.
- Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
- 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.
Among 147 ice cream tubs
From least to most processed, this one ranks 80th. 90% of the ice cream tubs here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0076840003051, last edited 16 July 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.