Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Cheerios Cherrios ultra-processed?

Extruded cereals Sold in the United States and Canada

Pack of Cheerios Cherrios

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
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed extruded cereals

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

oats, Degermed corn meal, Sugars (sugar, golden sugar, corn syrup, mixed fruit (strawberry puree, apple puree)), vegetable blend (sweet potato, carrot powder, spinach powder), Corn starch, High monounsaturated canola, canola and high monounsaturated sunflower oil, Salt, Calcium carbonate, Sweet potato, apple, cherry, radish (for colour), Tripotassium phosphate, Natural flavour, Tocopherols (for freshness), Annatto (for colour), Rosemary extract, Vitamins, minerals (Iron), Niacinamide (vitamin B3), Calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), Pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), Folate

Additives: E306 Tocopherol-rich extract , E340 Potassium phosphates , E340iii Tripotassium phosphate , E392 Extracts of rosemary

As written on the pack

Whole grain oats, Degermed corn meal, Sugars (sugar and/or golden sugar, corn syrup, mixed fruit puree [strawberry puree, apple puree concentrate]), Dried vegetable blend (sweet potato powder, carrot powder, spinach powder), Corn starch, High monounsaturated canola, canola and/or high monounsaturated sunflower oil, Salt, Calcium carbonate, Sweet potato, apple, cherry and radish juice concentrate (for colour), Tripotassium phosphate, Natural flavour, Tocopherols (for freshness) Annatto extract (for colour), Rosemary extract, Vitamins and minerals: Iron, Niacinamide (vitamin B3), Calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), Pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), Folate.

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.

  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
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 373 extruded cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 285th. 64% of the extruded cereals 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 373 extruded cereals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0065633222731, last edited 27 August 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.