Is Bush's Best Dark Red Kidney Beans ultra-processed?

130 g Red beans Sold in the United States and Germany

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Dextrose
Firming agent
Glucose

9 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed red beans

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

kidney beans, water, salt (processing marker), sugar (processing marker), dextrose (ultra-processing marker), calcium chloride (firming agent (ultra-processing marker)), and DISODIUM EDTA (promotes color retention)

As written on the pack

PREPARED KIDNEY BEANS, WATER, SALT, SUGAR, DEXTROSE, CALCIUM CHLORIDE (FIRMING AGENT), AND DISODIUM EDTA (PROMOTES COLOR RETENTION).

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.

Firming agent Firming agents keep fruit and vegetable tissue crisp or firm through processing and storage.

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.

Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.

2 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.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 44 red beans

From least to most processed, this one ranks 44th. 48% of the red beans 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 44 red beans, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0039400017349, last edited 4 April 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 A (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.