Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Great Value Pecan Shortbread Cookies ultra-processed?

320g Shortbread cookies Sold in the United States

Pack of Great Value Pecan Shortbread Cookies

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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed shortbread 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

enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable oil shortening (canola oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil), sugar, pecans, salt, eggs, whey, baking soda, soy lecithin

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID) VEGETABLE OIL SHORTENING (CANOLA OIL, PALM OIL AND PALM KERNEL OIL), SUGAR, PECANS, SALT, EGGS, WHEY (MILK), BAKING SODA, SOY LECITHIN.

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.

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.

  • 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.
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.
  • 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 87 shortbread cookies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 64th. 45% of the shortbread 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 87 shortbread cookies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0078742056258, last edited 12 September 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.