Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Idahoan Wisconsin Cheddar Mashed Potatoes ultra-processed?

4 oz Sold in the United States

Pack of Idahoan Wisconsin Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Idaho potatoes, vegetable oil (coconut vegetable oil, sunflower vegetable oil), soybean, salt, maltodextrin, buttermilk, whey, sugar, wisconsin cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), nonfat dry milk, natural flavors, monoglycerides, calcium stearoyl lactylate, paprika extract (color), annatto (color), freshness preserved by sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bisulfite, citric acid, mixed tocopherols

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E222 Sodium bisulphite , E306 Tocopherol-rich extract , E330 Citric acid , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E450 Diphosphates.

As written on the pack

Idaho potatoes, vegetable oil (coconut, sunflower, soybean), salt, maltodextrin, buttermilk, whey, sugar, wisconsin cheddar cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), nonfat dry milk, natural flavors, monoglycerides, calcium stearoyl lactylate, paprika extract (color), annatto extract (color). freshness preserved by sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bisulfite, citric acid and mixed tocopherols.

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.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • 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.
7 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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.
  • Microbial culture Microbial cultures ferment foods such as yoghurt, cheese and sourdough.
  • Enzyme Enzymes carry out traditional processes such as cheese making and baking.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0029700021801, last edited 20 August 2025), 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.