Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Chex Rice, Corn & Wheat Cereals ultra-processed?

Extruded cereals Sold in the United States

Pack of Chex Rice, Corn & Wheat Cereals

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:

  • 118 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

Rice chex (rice), rice, sugar, salt, molasses, vitamin e (mixed tocopherols), added to preserve freshness.vitamins, minerals (calcium carbonate), iron, zinc (mineral nutrients), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamins, vitamin b1, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin a (palmitate), vitamins, vitamin b2, riboflavin, a b vitamins, folic acid, vitamin b12, vitamin d3, wheat chex (wheat), sugar, salt, molasses, baking soda, vitamin e (mixed tocopherols), added to preserve freshness.vitamins, minerals (calcium carbonate), iron, zinc (mineral nutrients), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamins, vitamin b2, riboflavin, a b vitamin (folic acid), vitamins, vitamin b1, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin a (palmitate), vitamin b12, vitamin d3, corn chex (corn), corn meal, sugar, corn starch, salt, baking soda, vitamin e (mixed tocopherols), added to preserve freshness.vitamins, minerals (calcium carbonate), iron, zinc (mineral nutrients), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamins, vitamin b1, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin b6, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin a (palmitate), vitamins, vitamin b2, riboflavin, a b vitamins, folic acid, vitamin b12, vitamin d3, chex seasoning (salt), maltodextrin, worcestershire sauce (vinegar, molasses, corn syrup, water, salt, caramel color, garlic, sugar, spices, tamarind, natural flavor), garlic, dextrose, sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium stearate, soybean oil, sulfiting agents

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

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

As written on the pack

Rice chex : whole grain rice, rice, sugar, salt, molasses. vitamin e (mixed tocopherols) added to preserve freshness.vitamins and minerals: calcium carbonate, iron and zinc (mineral nutrients), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin b1 (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin a (palmitate), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), a b vitamin (folic acid), vitamin b12, vitamin d3. wheat chex : whole grain wheat, sugar, salt, molasses, baking soda. vitamin e (mixed tocopherols) added to preserve freshness.vitamins and minerals: calcium carbonate, iron and zinc (mineral nutrients), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), a b vitamin (folic acid), vitamin b1 (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin a (palmitate), vitamin b12, vitamin d3. corn chex : whole grain corn, corn meal, sugar, corn starch, salt, baking soda. vitamin e (mixed tocopherols) added to preserve freshness.vitamins and minerals: calcium carbonate, iron and zinc (mineral nutrients), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b1 (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin a (palmitate), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), a b vitamin (folic acid), vitamin b12, vitamin d3. chex seasoning : salt, maltodextrin, worcestershire sauce (vinegar, molasses, corn syrup, water, salt, caramel color, garlic powder, sugar, spices, tamarind, natural flavor), garlic powder, dextrose, sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium stearate, soybean oil, sulfiting agents.

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.
  • E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • 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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 373 extruded cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 342nd. 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 0016000441071, last edited 4 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.