Is it ultra-processed?
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Is General Mills Golden Grahams ultra-processed?

11.7 oz Extruded cereals Sold in the United States and Spain

Pack of General Mills Golden Grahams

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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed extruded 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

Wheat, Corn Meal, Sugar, Brown Sugar Syrup, Canola, Sunflower Oil, Honey, Baking Soda, Salt, Dextrose, Trisodium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Vitamins, Minerals (Calcium Carbonate), Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate), Iron, Zinc (Mineral Nutrients), a B Vitamin (Niacinamide), Vitamin B₆ (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B₁ (Thiamin Mononitrate), Vitamin A (Palmitate), Vitamin B₂ (Riboflavin), A B Vitamin (Folic Acid), Vitamin B₁₂, Vitamin D₃

Additives: E339 Sodium phosphates , E339iii Trisodium phosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Whole Grain Wheat, Corn Meal, Sugar, Brown Sugar Syrup, Canola and/or Sunflower Oil, Honey, Baking Soda, Salt, Dextrose, Trisodium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Vitamins and Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate), Iron and Zinc (Mineral Nutrients), a B Vitamin (Niacinamide), Vitamin B₆ (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B₁ (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.

  • 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.

  • 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.
4 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.

  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 373 extruded cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 283rd. 64% of the extruded 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 373 extruded cereals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0016000120259, last edited 21 May 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.