Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Heinz Macaroni cheese ultra-processed?

400g Cereals and their products Sold in the United Kingdom, France and Germany

Pack of Heinz Macaroni cheese

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 C

Less processed cereals and their products

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

Macaroni 39% (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Water, Skimmed Milk, Cheddar Cheese 3%, Cheese 2%, Cornflour, Flavouring, Modified Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Mustard, Salt, Stabiliser, Polyphosphates, Sodium Phosphates, Sugar, Colour-Beta-carotene

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E339 Sodium phosphates , E452 Polyphosphates

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E160a Carotene.

As written on the pack

Macaroni (39%, Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Water, Skimmed Milk, Cheddar Cheese (3%, contains Milk), Reduced Fat Cheese (2%, contains Milk), Cornflour, Flavouring (contains Milk), Modified Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Mustard, Salt, Stabiliser - Polyphosphates and Sodium Phosphates, Sugar, Colour-Beta-carotene.

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E452 Polyphosphates 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.
  • 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.

  • Modified flour An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
4 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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 5,066 cereals and their products

From least to most processed, this one ranks 4354th. 57% of the cereals and their products 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 5,066 cereals and their products, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5000157025043, last edited 4 March 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.