Is it ultra-processed?
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Is honey bunches of oats ultra-processed?

Breakfast cereals Sold in the United States

Pack of honey bunches of oats

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:

  • 35 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed breakfast cereals

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

Corn, wheat, sugar, rolled oats, brown sugar, rice, canola oil, wheat flour, malted barley flour, corn syrup, salt, whey (from milk), corn, barley syrup, honey, caramel color, natural and artificial flavor, annatto (color), bht added to packaging material to preserve product freshness, vitamins, minerals (reduced iron), niacinamide, vitamins, vitamin b6, vitamin a palmitate, riboflavin, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin b1), zinc oxide, folic acid, vitamin b12, vitamin d3

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel

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

As written on the pack

Corn, whole grain wheat, sugar, whole grain rolled oats, brown sugar, rice, canola oil, wheat flour, malted barley flour, corn syrup, salt, whey (from milk), malted corn and barley syrup, honey, caramel color, natural and artificial flavor, annatto extract (color). bht added to packaging material to preserve product freshness. vitamins and minerals: reduced iron, niacinamide, vitamin b6, vitamin a palmitate, riboflavin (vitamin b2), thiamin mononitrate (vitamin b1), zinc oxide (source of zinc), folic acid, vitamin b12, vitamin d3.

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.

  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • 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.

  • 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.
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.

  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,869 breakfast cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1645th. 60% of the breakfast cereals 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 1,869 breakfast cereals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0884912014245, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.