Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Butterkist ultra-processed?

3 x 60 g Sugared popcorn Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Butterkist

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:

  • 7 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed sugared popcorn

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

maize, palm oil, sweeteners (maltitol), sucralose, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E955 Sucralose , E965 Maltitol

As written on the pack

maize, palm oil, sweeteners: maltitol, sucralose, emulsifier: sunflower lecithin,

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.
  • E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
  • E965 Maltitol Maltitol is a sugar alcohol made from starch, used as a sweetener in "no added sugar" sweets and chocolate.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.
1 ingredient that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 16 sugared popcorn

From least to most processed, this one ranks 16th. 75% of the sugared popcorn 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 16 sugared popcorn, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000237129777, last edited 27 March 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.