Is Gruma Corporation Corn Tortilla Chips ultra-processed?

Corn chips Sold in the United States and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose

10 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score E

Less processed corn chips

Tortilla Pops Finement Salé N.a ! Nature Addicts 10 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Organic Tortilla Chips Kirkland Signature 5 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Sweet Potato Chips Sea Salt Jackson's 3 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
Grain Free Tortilla Chips Siete 7 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3

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

Ground corn treated with lime, water, vegetable oil (processing marker) (contains one and more of the following (cottonseed oil), corn oil, palm oil, sunflower oil), salt (processing marker), cellulose gum (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose

As written on the pack

Ground corn treated with lime, water, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: cottonseed oil, corn oil, palm oil, sunflower oil), salt, cellulose gum.

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.

E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is a thickener made by chemically modifying cellulose from wood or cotton.

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.

Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 359 corn chips

From least to most processed, this one ranks 205th. 46% of the corn chips 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 359 corn chips, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 08118725, last edited 18 March 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
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.