Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kellogg's Special K Original ultra-processed?

9.6 oz Cereal flakes Sold in the United States

Pack of Kellogg's Special K 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:

  • 19 ingredients
  • 1 additive

Less processed cereal flakes

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

Rice, wheat gluten, sugar, wheat germ, salt, malt flavor, BHT, reduced iron, vitamin C, niacinamide, vitamin E acetate, beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamins, vitamin D3, vitamin B12

Additives: E321 Butylated hydroxytoluene

As written on the pack

Rice, wheat gluten, sugar, defatted wheat germ, salt, malt flavor, BHT, reduced iron, vitamin C, niacinamide, vitamin E acetate, beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin D3, vitamin B12

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
2 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 332 cereal flakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 294th. 27% of the cereal flakes 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 332 cereal flakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0038000269851, last edited 13 July 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.