Is it ultra-processed?
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Is ICA Kvarg salted caramel ultra-processed?

250 g Quarks Sold in Sweden

Pack of ICA Kvarg salted caramel

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed quarks

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

Kvarg 77% (mjölk, grädde, mjölksyrakultur, mjölkkoagulerande enzym (mikrobiellt)), smakberedning, socker, vatten, smaksatt sirap 3% (invertsockersirap, skummjölkspulver, mjölkpulver, kokosfett, smör, emulgeringsmedel (rapslecitin)), karamellsirap 0.5%, förtjockningsmedel (e412, e440), salt, citronjuicekoncentrat, arom

Additives: E412 Guar gum , E440 Pectins

As written on the pack

Kvarg 77% (mjölk, grädde, mjölksyrakultur, mjölkkoagulerande enzym (mikrobiellt)), smakberedning (socker, vatten, smaksatt sirap 3% (invertsockersirap, skummjölkspulver, mjölkpulver, kokosfett, smör, emulgeringsmedel (rapslecitin)), karamellsirap 0,5%, förtjockningsmedel (E412, E440), salt, citronjuicekoncentrat, arom).

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.

  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Thickener Thickeners, often gums or modified starches, make liquids more viscous so that a product feels richer than its ingredients alone would make it.

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.

  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
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 fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • 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 64 quarks

From least to most processed, this one ranks 49th. 73% of the quarks 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 64 quarks, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7318690144854, last edited 2 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.