Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Hershey's ONE Cookies 'n Creme Protein Bar ultra-processed?

2.12 oz Protein bars Sold in the United States

Pack of Hershey's ONE Cookies 'n Creme Protein Bar

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:

  • 28 ingredients
  • 6 additives

Less processed protein bars

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

Milk protein isolate, maltitol, soluble corn fiber, whey protein isolate, glycerin, vegetable oil (palm kernel oil, canola oil, palm oil), cocoa butter, isomalto-oligosaccharides, milk protein concentrate, water, cornstarch, whey protein, sugar, maltitol syrup, hydrolyzed whey protein isolate, lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, cocoa processed with alkali, salt, tapioca starch, skim milk, modified cornstarch, sucralose, high fructose corn syrup, cocoa

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E422 Glycerol , E955 Sucralose , E965 Maltitol , E965ii Maltitol syrup

As written on the pack

Milk protein isolate, maltitol, soluble corn fiber, whey protein isolate (milk), glycerin, vegetable oil (palm kernel oil, canola oil, palm oil), cocoa butter, isomalto-oligosaccharides, milk protein concentrate, water, cornstarch, whey protein concentrate (milk), sugar, maltitol syrup, hydrolyzed whey protein isolate (milk), lecithin (soy), natural and artificial flavor, cocoa processed with alkali, salt, tapioca starch, skim milk, modified cornstarch, sucralose, high fructose corn syrup, cocoa.

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.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
  • E965 Maltitol Maltitol is a sugar alcohol made from starch, used as a sweetener in "no added sugar" sweets and chocolate.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.
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  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 426 protein bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 398th. 93% of the protein bars 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 426 protein bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0788434115704, last edited 13 August 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.