Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kellogg's pop tarts ultra-processed?

384g Toaster pastries Sold in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany

Pack of Kellogg's pop tarts

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:

  • 38 ingredients
  • 15 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed biscuits

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

wheat flour, glucose syrup, dextrose, sugar, palm oil, invert sugar syrup, wheat starch, salt, strawberry, apple pieces (strawberries, apples, sugar, pectin), beetroot red, annatto, paprika extract, sodium hydrogen carbonate, diphosphates, calcium phosphate, citric acid, sodium citrate, beef gelatin, modified starch, xanthan gum, soy lecithin, brown rice syrup, vegetable juice (beetroot, carrot), niacin, iron, vitamin b1 (thiamin), vitamins, vitamin b2, riboflavin, folic acid

Additives: E14XX Modified Starch , E160b Annatto , E160c Paprika extract , E162 Beetroot red , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E341 Calcium phosphates , E415 Xanthan gum , E428 Gelatine , E440 Pectins , E450 Diphosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

wheat flour, glucose syrup, dextrose, sugar, palm oil, invert sugar syrup, wheat starch, salt, dried strawberry and apple pieces(strawberries, apples, sugar, gelling agent (pectin)), colours(beetroot red, annatto, paprika extract), raising agents(sodium hydrogen carbonate, diphosphates, calcium phosphate), citric acid, acidity regulator(sodium citrate), beef gelatin, modified starch, stabiliser(xanthan gum), emulsifier(soy lecithin), brown rice syrup, vegetable juice concentrates (beetroot, carrot), niacin, iron, vitamin b1 (thiamin), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), folic 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.

  • E14xx Modified Starch Modified starches (E1400 to E1452) are starches treated physically, with enzymes or chemically so that they thicken and hold up to heating, freezing or acidity better than ordinary starch.
  • E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • E162 Beetroot red Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
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  • E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
  • Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
4 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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 12 toaster pastries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 7th. 100% of the toaster pastries 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 12 toaster pastries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059320000011, last edited 21 August 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.