Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Frosted Cherry Pop-Tarts ultra-processed?

20.3 oz Toaster pastries Sold in the United States

Pack of Frosted Cherry Pop-Tarts

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:

  • 36 ingredients
  • 15 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed biscuits

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

Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin B₂ (riboflavin), folic acid), Corn syrup, High fructose corn syrup, Dextrose, Sugar, Soybean oil, Palm oil (with TBHQ for freshness), wheat flour, Wheat starch, Salt, Leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Citric acid, cherries, Dried apples, Soy lecithin, Gelatin, Caramel color, Modified wheat starch, Xanthan gum, Red 40, Red 40 lake, Natural flavor, Yellow 6, Carnauba wax, ingredients

Additives: E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E129 Allura red , E150c Ammonia caramel , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E415 Xanthan gum , E428 Gelatine , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E903 Carnauba wax

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

As written on the pack

Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin B₂ (riboflavin), folic acid) - Corn syrup - High fructose corn syrup - Dextrose - Sugar - Soybean oil - Palm oil (with TBHQ for freshness) - Bleached wheat flour - Wheat starch - Salt - Leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate) - Citric acid - Dried cherries - Dried apples - Soy lecithin - Gelatin - Caramel color - Modified wheat starch - Xanthan gum - Red 40 - Red 40 lake - Natural flavor - Yellow 6 - Carnauba wax - Blue 1 Contains wheat and soy ingredients.

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.

  • E110 Sunset yellow FCF Sunset yellow FCF is a synthetic orange azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 6 in the US).
  • E129 Allura red Allura red AC is a synthetic red azo dye (FD&C Red No. 40 in the US).
  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
Show 4 more
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E903 Carnauba wax Carnauba wax comes from the leaves of a Brazilian palm and gives sweets and coated chocolates their shine.
  • 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.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 12 toaster pastries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 6th. 100% of the toaster pastries 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 12 toaster pastries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0038000222771, last edited 31 July 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.