Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Hillshire Farm Black Forest Ham ultra-processed?

9 oz Hams Sold in the United States

Pack of Hillshire Farm Black Forest Ham

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:

  • 9 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed hams

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

with water, and 2% and less (salt), dextrose, sodium phosphate, sodium propionate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, caramel color

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E250 Sodium nitrite , E281 Sodium propionate , E316 Sodium erythorbate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

Cured with water, and 2% or less: salt, dextrose, sodium phosphate, sodium propionate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, caramel color,

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.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
3 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.

  • E250 Sodium nitrite Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 223 hams

From least to most processed, this one ranks 179th. 65% of the hams 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 223 hams, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0044500329537, last edited 9 September 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.