Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Bush's Best Original Baked Beans ultra-processed?

794g Canned white common beans Sold in the United States and Germany

Pack of Bush's Best Original Baked Beans

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:

  • 19 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed canned white common 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

Navy Beans, Water, Brown Sugar, Contains 2% and Less of (Bacon), Salt, Mustard (Water, Vinegar, Mustard Seed, Salt, Paprika, Turmeric), Modified Corn Starch, Onion, Caramel Color, Spice, Garlic, Natural Flavor

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel

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

As written on the pack

Prepared Navy Beans, Water, Brown Sugar, Contains 2% or Less of: Cured Bacon, Salt, Mustard (Water, Vinegar, Mustard Seed, Salt, Paprika, Turmeric), Modified Corn Starch, Onion Powder, Caramel Color, Spice, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavor.

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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.
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.

  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 14 canned white common beans

From least to most processed, this one ranks 12th. 79% of the canned white common 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 14 canned white common beans, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0039400016144, last edited 4 June 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.