Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Jack Link's Beef Jerky Original ultra-processed?

2.85 oz Beef jerkies Sold in the United States and France

Pack of Jack Link's Beef Jerky Original

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:

  • 10 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed beef jerkies

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

Beef, water, sugar, salt, less than 2% soy sauce (maltodextrin), flavorings, hydrolyzed corn protein, yeast extract, citric acid

Additives: E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

Beef, water, sugar, salt, less than 2% soy sauce [(wheat, soybeans, salt), maltodextrin], flavorings, hydrolyzed corn protein, yeast extract, citric acid.

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.

  • 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.
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.

  • Prepared meats Products in the category "Prepared meats" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 33 beef jerkies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 32nd. 58% of the beef jerkies 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 33 beef jerkies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0017082876317, last edited 3 June 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.