Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Fruity cheerios ultra-processed?

Breakfast cereals Sold in the United States and Canada

Pack of Fruity cheerios

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:

  • 41 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed breakfast cereals

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

oats, sugar, corn starch, corn syrup, pear puree, salt, color (vegetable juice, fruit juice, and annatto), tripotassium phosphate, natural flavor, sodium citrate, citric acid, vitamin e (mixed tocopherols), ascorbic acid added to preserve freshness, vitamins, minerals (calcium carbonate), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), iron, zinc (mineral nutrients), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamins, vitamin b, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin a (palmitate), vitamins, vitamin b2, riboflavin, a b vitamins, folic acid, vitamin b12, vitamin d3

Additives: E306 Tocopherol-rich extract , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E340 Potassium phosphates , E340iii Tripotassium phosphate

As written on the pack

whole grain oats, sugar, corn starch, corn syrup, pear puree concentrate, salt, color (vegetable juice, fruit juice, and annatto extract), tripotassium phosphate, natural flavor, sodium citrate, citric acid. vitamin e (mixed tocopherols) and ascorbic acid added to preserve freshness. vitamins and minerals: calcium carbonate, vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), iron and zinc (mineral nutrients), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin b, (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin a (palmitate), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), a b vitamin (folic acid), vitamin b12, vitamin d3.

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.

  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
3 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,868 breakfast cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1607th. 60% of the breakfast cereals 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 1,868 breakfast cereals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0016000163621, last edited 4 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.