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Is Friendly Farms Cottage Cheese Small Curd 4% Milkfat Minimum ultra-processed?

24 oz Fresh cheeses Sold in the United States and Italy

Pack of Friendly Farms Cottage Cheese Small Curd 4% Milkfat Minimum

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:

  • 14 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed fresh cheeses

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

pasteurized skim milk, whey protein concentrate cream, whey, salt, modified corn starch, potassium hydroxide, potassium sorbate, carbon dioxide (to maintain freshness), guar gum, carragee an, locust bean gum, phosphoric acid, enzymes

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E290 Carbon dioxide , E410 Locust bean gum , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

CULTURED PASTEURIZED SKIM MILK, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE CREAM, WHEY, SALT, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE, POTASSIUM SORBATE AND CARBON DIOXIDE (TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS), GUAR GUM, CARRAGEE AN, LOCUST BEAN GUM, PHOSPHORIC ACID AND ENZYMES. CONTAINS: MILK

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.

  • E290 Carbon dioxide Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • 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.

  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 91 fresh cheeses

From least to most processed, this one ranks 86th. 37% of the fresh cheeses 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 91 fresh cheeses, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4099100131383, 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.