Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes ultra-processed?

24 oz Mashed potatoes Sold in the United States

Pack of Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 9 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed mashed potatoes

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

Potatoes, milk, butter (cream, salt), margarine (soybean oil, water, salt, whey, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, vegetable mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin, sodium benzoate (preservative), citric acid, artificial flavor, vitamin a palmitate, diacetyl tartaric acid of ester of mono- and diglycerides, calcium silicate (anticaking agent)), artificial color, potassium sorbate, salt, and soybean oil, sodium acid pyrophosphate, spice

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E211 Sodium benzoate , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E552 Calcium silicate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids.

As written on the pack

Potatoes, milk, butter (cream, salt), margarine (soybean oil, water, salt, whey solids, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, vegetable mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin, sodium benzoate [preservative], citric acid, artificial flavor, vitamin a palmitate, diacetyl tartaric acid of ester of mono and diglycerides, calcium silicate [anticaking agent]), preservative (artificial color, potassium sorbate, salt, and soybean oil), sodium acid pyrophosphate, spice.

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.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • 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.

  • Hydrogenated oil Hydrogenation turns liquid oil into a solid fat that resists going rancid.
  • 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.
7 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.

  • 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.
  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 41 mashed potatoes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 40th. 63% of the mashed potatoes 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 41 mashed potatoes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0075900005264, last edited 19 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.