Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Costco Pumpkin pie ultra-processed?

58 oz Pies Sold in the United States

Pack of Costco Pumpkin pie

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed pies

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

Pumpkin, sugar, water, eggs, flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), shortening, soybean oil, mono- and diglycerides, tbhq, citric acid, nonfat milk, spices, corn syrup solids, modified corn starch, salt, canola, soybean oil, dextrose, Produced on equipment that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, and sesame

Additives: E319 Tertiary-butylhydroquinone (tbhq) , E330 Citric acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Pumpkin, sugar, water, eggs, enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), shortening, soybean oil, mono - & diglycerides, TBHQ, citric acid, nonfat milk, spices, corn syrup solids, modified corn starch, salt, canola and/or soybean oil, dextrose. Allergen information: Contains wheat, milk. Produced on equipment that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, and sesame.

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.

  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
4 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 101 pies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 63rd. 76% of the pies 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 101 pies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0096619608096, last edited 2 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 A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.