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Is kellogg's Special K Strawberry Pastry Crisps ultra-processed?

6 - 0.88 oz (25g) 2 bar pouches; Net weight 5.28 oz (150g) Fruits cereal bars Sold in the United States

Pack of kellogg's Special K Strawberry 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:

  • 42 ingredients
  • 16 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed fruits 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

flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin B₁ (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), folic acid), sugar, vegetable glycerin, vegetable oil (soybean, palm and palm kernel), fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, modified food starch, apple, strawberry puree, nonfat milk, cornstarch, invert sugar, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), soy lecithin, reduced minerals whey, salt, datem, vegetable for color, sodium citrate, natural flavors, cellulose gel, citric acid, malic acid, mono- and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium alginate, tricalcium phosphate, rosemary extract for freshness

Additives: E296 Malic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E401 Sodium alginate , E422 Glycerol , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , 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 , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E422 Glycerol.

As written on the pack

Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin B₁ [thiamin mononitrate], vitamin B2 [riboflavin], folic acid), sugar, vegetable glycerin, vegetable oil (soybean, palm and/or palm kernel), fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, modified food starch, apple powder, strawberry puree concentrate, nonfat milk, cornstarch, invert sugar, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), soy lecithin, reduced minerals whey, salt, DATEM, vegetable juice for color, sodium citrate, natural flavors, cellulose gel, citric acid, malic acid, mono - and diglycerides, cellulose gum, sodium alginate, tricalcium phosphate, rosemary extract for freshness.

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.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • 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.
Show 3 more

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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
5 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 73 fruits cereal bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 65th. 88% of the fruits 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 73 fruits cereal bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0038000167782, last edited 8 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.