Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Great Value Deluxe Moist White Cake Mix ultra-processed?

Cakes Sold in the United States

Pack of Great Value Deluxe Moist White Cake Mix

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:

  • 32 ingredients
  • 14 additives

Less processed cakes

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

flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced ron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, leavening (baking soda, calcium phosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate), canola oil, propylene glycol mono- and diesters of fats and fatty acids, mono- and diglycerides, dextrose, wheat starch, salt, cellulose, corn starch, xanthan gum, cellulosé gum, sodium stearoyl lactylate, artificial flavor, soy lecithin, whey, sodium caseinate, palm kernel oil, citric acid (preservative), bht (preservative)

Additives: E321 Butylated hydroxytoluene , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E341 Calcium phosphates , E415 Xanthan gum , E460 Cellulose , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E541 Sodium aluminium phosphate , E570 Fatty acids

As written on the pack

bleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced ron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, leavening (baking soda, calcium phosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate), canola oil, propylene glycol mono-and diesters of fats and fatty acids, mono-and diglycerides, dextrose, wheat starch, salt, cellulose, corn starch, xanthan gum, cellulosé gum, sodium stearoyl lactylate, artificial flavor, soy lecithin, whey, sodium caseinate, palm kernel oil, citric acid (preservative), bht (preservative). contains milk, wheat and soy.

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.

  • 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.
  • E460 Cellulose A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is a thickener made by chemically modifying cellulose from wood or cotton.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate 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.
Show 1 more
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 377 cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 287th. 94% of the cakes 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 377 cakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0078742308807, last edited 1 June 2025), 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.