Is Cream of Wheat Instant Original Hot Cereal ultra-processed?

12 oz Plain porridge Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
E412 Guar gum

20 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed plain porridge

Cream of Wheat Original Cream of Wheat 16 ingredients · 1 additive NOVA group 1
Protein Old Fashioned Rolled Oats Quaker 2 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 1
Porage Oats Original Traditional Smooth Cut Scott's 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Original Quaker Oats So Simple 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1

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

wheat farina, calcium carbonate, salt (processing marker), wheat germ, guar gum (ultra-processing marker), natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), ferric orthophosphate (iron), niacinamide (vitamin b3), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin b1), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin b6), BHT (to preserve freshness), riboflavin, folic acid, cholecalciferol (vitamin d3)

Additives: E321 Butylated hydroxytoluene , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

WHEAT FARINA, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SALT, DEFATTED WHEAT GERM, GUAR GUM, NATURAL FLAVOR, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE (IRON), NIACINAMIDE (VITAMIN B3), THIAMINE MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), BHT (TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID, CHOLECALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D3). CONTAINS WHEAT

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.

E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

1 ingredient 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 20 plain porridge

From least to most processed, this one ranks 20th. 30% of the plain porridge 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 20 plain porridge, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0013130060257, last edited 4 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.