Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Campbell's Chunky New England Clam Chowder ultra-processed?

533g Canned meals Sold in the United States, Germany and Taiwan

Pack of Campbell's Chunky New England Clam Chowder

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:

  • 40 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

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

Clam stock, potatoes, clams, vegetable oil (corn, canola, and soybean), celery, contains less than 2% of (modified food starch), water, wheat flour, salt, monosodium glutamate, soy protein, sugar, dehydrated onions, spices, sodium phosphate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, flavoring, celery, onion extract, succinic acid, butter (cream, salt), buttermilk, soy sauce (soybeans, wheat, salt), enzyme modified butter, whey protein, nonfat dry milk, enzyme modified butter fat, oil, whey, soy lecithin

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E363 Succinic acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

As written on the pack

Clam stock, potatoes, clams, vegetable oil (corn, canola, and/or soybean), celery, contains less than 2% of: modified food starch, water, wheat flour, salt, monosodium glutamate, soy protein concentrate, sugar, dehydrated onions, spices, sodium phosphate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, flavoring (cod), celery extract, onion extract, succinic acid, dehydrated butter (cream [milk], salt), buttermilk, soy sauce (soybeans, wheat, salt), enzyme modified butter, whey protein concentrate, nonfat dry milk, enzyme modified butter fat and oil, whey, soy 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.
  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • E627 Disodium guanylate Disodium guanylate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • E631 Disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • 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.

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.

  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • 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.
8 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.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 228 canned meals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 228th. 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 0051000005243, last edited 31 July 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.