Is HighKey Chocolate Chip Mini Cookies ultra-processed?

340.2g Chocolate chip cookies Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
Sweetener
Vegetable fiber
E322 Lecithins
E412 Guar gum
E415 Xanthan gum
and 2 more

23 ingredients
10 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed chocolate chip cookies

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

almond flour, erythritol (ultra-processing marker), coconut oil (processing marker), butter (processing marker) (cream), chocolate, whole eggs, inulin (ultra-processing marker) (from chicory root), natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), stevia extract (steviol glycosides (ultra-processing marker)), monk fruit extract (ultra-processing marker), baking powder, monocalcium phosphate, tapioca starch (processing marker), baking soda, hydrolyzed collagen, guar gum (ultra-processing marker), xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E960 Steviol glycosides , E968 Erythritol

As written on the pack

ALMOND FLOUR, ERYTHRITOL, COCONUT OIL, BUTTER (CREAM [MILK]), UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, DRIED WHOLE EGGS, INULIN (FROM CHICORY ROOT), NATURAL FLAVOR, STEVIA EXTRACT (STEVIOL GLYCOSIDES), MONK FRUIT EXTRACT, BAKING POWDER (MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, TAPIOCA STARCH, BAKING SODA, HYDROLYZED COLLAGEN, GUAR GUM, XANTHAN GUM, SALT, COCOA BUTTER, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN.

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.
E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
E960 Steviol glycosides Steviol glycosides are sweet compounds extracted and purified from the leaves of the stevia plant.
E968 Erythritol Humectants are substances which prevent foods from drying out by counteracting the effect of an atmosphere having a low degree of humidity, or promote the dissolution of a powder in an aqueous medium.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

Show 1 more

Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.

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.

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.

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.

Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 50 chocolate chip cookies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 39th. 92% of the chocolate chip cookies 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 50 chocolate chip cookies, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0850020433223, last edited 1 February 2024), 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.