Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Catalina Crunch Protein Snack Mix Spicy Kick ultra-processed?

6 oz Sold in the United States

Pack of Catalina Crunch Protein Snack Mix Spicy Kick

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:

  • 31 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Cashews, Pea Protein, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cultures, Annatto, Enzymes), Fiber Blend (Chicory Root, Maize, Potato, Guar), Tapioca, Sunflower Oil, Coconut Oil, Flour Blend (Chickpea, Maize), Baking Powder, Caramel Color, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Cane Sugar, Salt, Whey, Yeast, Citric Acid, Spices, Natural Flavor, Vinegar, Lactic Acid

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E160b Annatto , E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum

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

As written on the pack

Cashews, Pea Protein, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cultures, Annatto, Enzymes), Fiber Blend (Chicory Root, Maize, Potato, Guar), Tapioca, Sunflower Oil and/or Coconut Oil, Flour Blend (Chickpea, Maize), Baking Powder, Caramel Color, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Cane Sugar, Salt, Whey, Yeast, Citric Acid, Spices, Natural Flavor, Vinegar, Lactic Acid

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.
  • E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

  • 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.
5 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0850017468153, last edited 19 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.