Is Bumble Bee Minced clams in clam juice ultra-processed?

Canned meals 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:

E452 Polyphosphates

8 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed canned meals

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

Clams in their natural juices, water, salt (processing marker), sugar (processing marker), sodium tripolyphosphate (ultra-processing marker) (to retain natural juices), calcium disodium edta (to protect color)

Additives: E385 Calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate , E452 Polyphosphates , E452vi Sodium tripolyphosphate

As written on the pack

Clams in their natural juices, water, salt, sugar, sodium tripolyphosphate (to retain natural juices), calcium disodium edta (to protect color)

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.

E452 Polyphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.

3 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 228 canned meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 113th. 69% of the canned meals 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 228 canned meals, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0798525160995, last edited 7 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.