Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Benton's Mint Striped Fudge Cookies ultra-processed?

326g Biscuits Sold in the United States

Pack of Benton's Mint Striped Fudge Cookies

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
  • 9 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed biscuits

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

enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, FOLIC he % Daily Value ACID), sugar, vegetable oil shortening (palm, palm kernel oils), caramel color, cornstarch, cocoa, corn flour, leavening (baking soda, ammonium bicarbonate), invert sugar, molasses, salt, soy lecithin, NATURAL and ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, color (spirulina extract, beta-carotene)

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate

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

As written on the pack

ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC he % Daily Value ACID), SUGAR, VEGETABLE OIL SHORTENING (PALM AND PALM KERNEL OILS), CARAMEL COLOR, CORNSTARCH, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), CORN FLOUR, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, AMMONIUM BICARBONATE), INVERT SUGAR, MOLASSES, SALT, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, COLOR (SPIRULINA EXTRACT AND BETA-CAROTENE). CONTAINS: SOY, WHEAT.

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.
  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • 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.
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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1302nd. 83% of the biscuits 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 1,514 biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4099100222128, last edited 19 August 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.