Is Cheetos Ketchup flavoured ultra-processed?

85g Flavoured potato crisps Sold in the United Kingdom and Hungary

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
Fructose
E160c Paprika extract
E621 Monosodium glutamate
E627 Disodium guanylate
E631 Disodium inosinate

17 ingredients
5 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed flavoured potato crisps

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

corn grits 68%, vegetable rapeseed oil, flavour preparation (ultra-processing marker) (wheat flour, fructose (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), sugar (processing marker), flavours (contain milk, soya), monosodium glutamate (ultra-processing marker), disodium guanylate (ultra-processing marker), disodium inosinate (ultra-processing marker), hydrolysed vegetable protein, paprika extract (ultra-processing marker), citric acid, spices)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E330 Citric acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

As written on the pack

corn grits 68%, vegetable rapeseed oil, flavour preparation ( wheat flour, fructose, salt, sugar, flavours (contain milk , soya ), flavour enhancers (monosodium glutamate, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate), hydrolysed vegetable protein (contains soya ), colour (paprika extract), acid (citric acid), spices),

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.

E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
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.

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.

Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.

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.

Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 191 flavoured potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 174th. 95% of the flavoured potato crisps 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 191 flavoured potato crisps, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5900259353276, last edited 1 October 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.