Is Ben's Original Ready Rice Cilantro Lime Flavored ultra-processed?

8.5 oz Rices 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:

Flavouring
Maltodextrin
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

29 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed rices

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, parboiled long grain rice, coconut cream, canola oil, cilantro, less than 2% of (sugar (processing marker)), salt (processing marker), maltodextrin (ultra-processing marker), coconut oil milk citric acid, garlic powder, yeast extract, natural lime flavors (ultra-processing marker), safflower oil (processing marker), natural flavors (ultra-processing marker), sodium caseinate, vitamins, minerals (calcium (calcium carbonate), iron (iron phosphate), vitamin b3 (niacinamide), vitamin b1 (thamine mononitrate), folic acid), spices, mono- and DIGLYCERIDES (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

WATER, PARBOILED LONG GRAIN RICE, COCONUT CREAM, CANOLA OIL, CILANTRO; LESS THAN 2% OF: SUGAR, SALT, MALTODEXTRIN, COCONUT OIL MILK CITRIC ACID, GARLIC POWDER, YEAST EXTRACT, NATURAL LIME FLAVORS, SAFFLOWER OIL, NATURAL FLAVORS (CONTAINS MILK), SODIUM CASEINATE, VITAMINS AND MINERALS (CALCIUM (CALCIUM CARBONATE), IRON (IRON PHOSPHATE), VITAMIN B3 (NIACINAMIDE), VITAMIN B1 (THAMINE MONONITRATE), FOLIC ACID), SPICES, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES.

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.

E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
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.

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.

Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
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 293 rices

From least to most processed, this one ranks 269th. 35% of the rices 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 293 rices, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0054800423446, last edited 20 September 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.