Is it ultra-processed?
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Is El Monterey Chicken & Cheese Taquitos ultra-processed?

30 Taquitos, 51 OZ (3 LB 3 OZ) Sold in the United States

Pack of El Monterey Chicken & Cheese Taquitos

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:

  • 54 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score C

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

wheat flour (with Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), water, CHARBROILED CHICKEN BREAST WITH RIB MEAT Charbroiled Chicken Breast with Rib Meat (Chicken Breast Meat with Rib Meat, Water, Seasoning (Maltodextrin, Garlic Powder, Dextrose, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Spice, Parsley, Natural Flavors (including Oil of Garlic)), Salt, Sodium Phosphate, Lime Juice (Corn Syrup Solids, Natural Flavors (Lime, Natural Flavors)), May Also Contain Flavor (Maltodextrin, Natural Flavor, Modified Food Starch)), vegetable oil (Soybean, Canola, and Corn Oil), monterey jack cheese (Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Tomato Paste (Tomatoes), Modified Corn Starch, Salt, Jalapeno (Jalapeno Peppers, Salt, Acetic Acid), Brown Sugar, Cilantro, Spices, Garlic, Paprika, Chili Pepper, Dehydrated Onion, Wheat Gluten

Additives: E260 Acetic acid

As written on the pack

WHEAT FLOUR (Enriched with Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), WATER, CHARBROILED CHICKEN BREAST WITH RIB MEAT Charbroiled Chicken Breast with Rib Meat (Chicken Breast Meat with Rib Meat, Water, Seasoning [Maltodextrin, Garlic Powder, Dextrose, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Spice, Parsley, Natural Flavors (including Oil of Garlic)], Salt, Sodium Phosphate, Lime Juice Powder [Corn Syrup Solids, Natural Flavors (Lime Juice Solids, Natural Flavors)], May Also Contain Flavor [Maltodextrin, Natural Flavor, Modified Food Starch]), VEGETABLE OIL (Soybean, Canola, and/or Corn Oil), MONTEREY JACK CHEESE (Cultured Pasteurized Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Tomato Paste (Tomatoes), Modified Corn Starch, Salt, Jalapeno Puree (Jalapeno Peppers, Salt, Acetic Acid), Brown Sugar, Cilantro, Spices, Granulated Garlic, Paprika, Chili Pepper, Dehydrated Onion, Wheat Gluten

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.

  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0071007404498, last edited 31 August 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.