Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Kellogg's Special K Pastry Crisps ultra-processed?

Cereals and their products Sold in the United States

Pack of Kellogg's Special K Pastry Crisps

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:

  • 29 ingredients
  • 13 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cereals and their products

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

flour, sugar, vegetable glycerin, vegetable oil, fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, modified food starch, apple, nonfat milk, strawberry puree, corn starch, whey, invert sugar, leavening, soy lecithin, salt, datem, vegetable for color, natural flavors, cellulose gel, citric acid, malic acid, sodium citrate, mono- and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium alginate, trisodium phosphate, rosemary extract

Additives: E296 Malic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E339 Sodium phosphates , E339iii Trisodium phosphate , E392 Extracts of rosemary , E401 Sodium alginate , E422 Glycerol , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

enriched flour, sugar, vegetable glycerin, vegetable oil, fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, modified food starch, apple powder, nonfat milk, strawberry puree concentrate, corn starch, whey, invert sugar, leavening, soy lecithin, salt, DATEM, vegetable juice for color, natural flavors, cellulose gel, citric acid, malic acid, sodium citrate, mono - and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium alginate, trisodium phosphate, rosemary extract

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.

  • 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.
  • E401 Sodium alginate A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose Carboxymethyl cellulose is a thickener made by chemically modifying cellulose from wood or cotton.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
Show 2 more
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 5,078 cereals and their products

From least to most processed, this one ranks 5068th. 57% of the cereals and their products 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 5,078 cereals and their products, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0038000273605, last edited 12 January 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.