Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Herr’s Fire roasted sweet corn popcorn ultra-processed?

177 g Popcorn Sold in the United States

Pack of Herr’s Fire roasted sweet corn popcorn

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:

  • 43 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed popcorn

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

popcorn, vegetable oil (corn, cottonseed, sunflower), cheese blend (cheddar cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes, whey, buttermilk, natural flavor, disodium phosphate, lactic acid)), seasoning (corn maltodextrin, salt, chili pepper, sugar, spices, nonfat dry milk, buttermilk solids, gum acacia, citric acid, NATURAL and ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, tricalcium phosphate, parmesan cheese (milk, salt, cultures, enzymes), sour cream (cultured cream), sunflower oil, turmeric extract (color), canola oil, natural smoke flavor), nonfat dry milk, butter (cream, salt)

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid , E339ii Disodium phosphate , E414 Acacia gum

As written on the pack

POPCORN, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN, COTTONSEED, SUNFLOWER), CHEESE BLEND (CHEDDAR CHEESE [CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES, WHEY, BUTTERMILK, NATURAL FLAVOR, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, LACTIC ACID]), SEASONING (CORN MALTODEXTRIN, SALT, CHILI PEPPER, SUGAR, SPICES, NONFAT DRY MILK, BUTTERMILK SOLIDS, GUM ACACIA, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, PARMESAN CHEESE [MILK, SALT, CULTURES, ENZYMES], SOUR CREAM SOLIDS [CULTURED CREAM], SUNFLOWER OIL, TURMERIC EXTRACT [COLOR], CANOLA OIL, NATURAL SMOKE FLAVOR), NONFAT DRY MILK, BUTTER [CREAM, SALT].

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.

  • E100 Curcumin 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.
  • E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • 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.
6 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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 188 popcorn

From least to most processed, this one ranks 184th. 57% of the popcorn 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 188 popcorn, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0072600042728, last edited 23 April 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.