Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Happy Farms Colby Jack a blend of colby & monterey jack finely shredded cheeses ultra-processed?

12 oz Cheeses Sold in the United States

Pack of Happy Farms Colby Jack a blend of colby & monterey jack finely shredded cheeses

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cheeses

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

colby cheese curel pasteurized milk, salt, microbenzymes annatto (vegetable color), mtere jack cheese (cultured pasteurizo mk salt, microbial enzymes), anti-caking blend (potato starch, tapioca starch, natayon (a natural mold inhibitor)), contains ilk, di 0% h keep refrigerated, for bestality, use and freeze by date on fror once opened, use within 5 days, may be frozen for up to 2 months before opening, refreezing not recommended, astic how2recycle, inf

Additives: E160b Annatto

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E160b Annatto.

As written on the pack

colby cheese curel pasteurized milk, salt, microbenzymes annatto [vegetable color]), mtere jack cheese (cultured pasteurizo mk salt, microbial enzymes), anti-caking blend (potato starch, tapioca starch, natayon [a natural mold inhibitor]), contains ilk, di 0% h keep refrigerated, for bestality, use or freeze by date on fror once opened, use within 5 days, may be frozen for up to 2 months before opening, refreezing not recommended, astic how2recycle,inf

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.

  • E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
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.

  • Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
  • Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,224 cheeses

From least to most processed, this one ranks 839th. 38% of the cheeses 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 1,224 cheeses, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4099100013559, last edited 3 June 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.