Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Cheerios Multigrain ultra-processed?

540 g Extruded cereals Sold in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Pack of Cheerios Multigrain

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:

  • 28 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

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

oat flour 29.6%, wheat 29.6%, barley flour 17.9%, sugar, wheat starch, invert sugar syrup, maize flour 2.1%, rice flour 2.1%, molasses, calcium carbonate, sunflower oit, salt, colours (carotene), annatto norbixin, caramelised sugar syrup, antioxidant (tocopherols), iron, vitamins, vitamin c, vitamin b3, vitamin b5, vitamin b9, vitamin d, vitamin b6, vitamin b2, including cereals containing gluten

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160b Annatto , E160bii Annatto norbixin , E306 Tocopherol-rich extract

As written on the pack

whole grain oat flour (29,6%), whole grain wheat (29,6%), whole grain barley flour (17,9%), sugar, wheat starch, invert sugar syrup, whole grain maize flour (2,1%), whole grain rice flour (2,1%), molasses, calcium carbonate, sunflower oit, salt, colours: carotene, annatto norbixin, caramelised sugar syrup, antioxidant: tocopherols, iron, vitamin c, b3, b5, b9, d, b6, b2, allergy advice: for allergens, including cereals containing gluten, see ingredients in bold, may also contain nuts,

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • 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.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

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.

  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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 305th. 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 7613287195210, 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.