Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kellogg's Special K Juicy Red Berry ultra-processed?

Cereal bars Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Kellogg's Special K Juicy Red Berry

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:

  • 62 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cereal bars

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

cereals (wholewheat 30%, whole oats 5%), cereal crispies (wholewheat flour, rice flour, sugar, malted barley flour, malted wheat flour, salt, rapeseed oil (calcium carbonate, soy lecithin)), sugar, glucose syrup, corn fibre, fructose, vegetable oils (palm vegetable oils, sunflower vegetable oils, rapeseed vegetable oils), cranberry fruit pieces 3% (cranberries, sugar, sunflower oil), maize starch, strawberry flavoured apple pieces 2.5% (dried apple, natural strawberry flavouring with other natural flavourings, of carrot, blackcurrant, citric, calcium stearate, sea salt, lemon juice concentrate), sorbitol, glycerol, dextrose, oligofructose, barley malt extract, calcium carbonate, skimmed milk powder, milk whey powder, salt, strawberry juice concentrate, natural flavourings, citric acid, soy lecithin, here niacin, iron, vitamins, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vanilla extract, tocopherol rich extract, from other cereals, Best before (see top)

Additives: E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E306 Tocopherol-rich extract , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E420 Sorbitol , E422 Glycerol

As written on the pack

Wholegrain cereals (wholewheat (30%), whole oats (5%)), cereal crispies (106) (wholewheat flour, rice flour, sugar, malted barley flour, malted wheat flour, salt, rapeseed oil, stabiliser {calcium carbonate}, emulsifier {soy lecithin}), sugar, glucose syrup, corn fibre, fructose, vegetable oils (palm, sunflower, rapeseed) in varying proportions, cranberry fruit pieces (3%) (cranberries, sugar, sunflower oil), maize starch, strawberry flavoured apple pieces (2.5%) (dried apple, natural strawberry flavouring with other natural flavourings, colouring food (concentrate of carrot and blackcurrant), acid {citric}, anti-caking agent {calcium stearate}, sea salt, lemon juice concentrate), humectants (sorbitol, glycerol), dextrose, oligofructose, barley malt extract, calcium carbonate, skimmed milk powder, milk whey powder, salt, strawberry juice concentrate, natural flavourings, citric acid, emulsifier (soy lecithin), here niacin, iron, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamin, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin D, vanilla extract, antioxidant (tocopherol rich extract). For allergens see ingredients highlighted in bold. May contain gluten from other cereals. Best before: see top.

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.

  • E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
  • 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.
  • E420 Sorbitol Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol used as a sweetener and to keep products moist.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
  • 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 488 cereal bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 446th. 91% of the cereal bars 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 488 cereal bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5059321004636, last edited 28 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.