Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Girl Scouts samoas ultra-processed?

7.5oz (212g) Chocolate chip cookies Sold in the United States

Pack of Girl Scouts samoas

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:

  • 35 ingredients
  • 11 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate chip cookies

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

sugar, vegetable oil (palm kernel, palm oil, soybean oil), flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin b1 (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), folic acid), corn syrup, coconut, sweetened condensed milk (milk, sugar), sorbitol, cocoa, glycerin, invert sugar, cocoa processed with alkali, cornstarch, salt, caramel color, dextrose, natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, sorbitan tristearate, leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), carrageenan

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E407 Carrageenan , E420 Sorbitol , E422 Glycerol , E492 Sorbitan tristearate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

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

As written on the pack

sugar, vegetable oil (palm kernel, palm oil, soybean oil), enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin b1 [thiamin mononitrate], vitamin b2 [riboflavin], folic acid), corn syrup, coconut, sweetened condensed milk (milk, sugar), sorbitol, cocoa, glycerin, invert sugar, cocoa processed with alkali, cornstarch, salt, caramel color, dextrose, natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, sorbitan tristearate, leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), carrageenan

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.

  • 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.
  • E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
  • E420 Sorbitol Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener and to keep products moist.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E492 Sorbitan tristearate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
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  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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 50 chocolate chip cookies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 46th. 92% of the chocolate chip cookies 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 50 chocolate chip cookies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0082011570727, last edited 28 April 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.