Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kellogs Frosted flakes of corn cereal ultra-processed?

Corn flakes Sold in the United States

Pack of Kellogs Frosted flakes of corn cereal

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed corn 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

milled corn, šugar malt flavoring, high fructose corn syrup, salt, sodium ascorbate, ascorbic acid (vitamin c), niacina, mide, iron, pyridoxine hydrochlo, ride (vitamin b6), riboflavin, thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin b1), vitamin a palmitate, folic acid, BHT (preservative), vitamins, vitamin B12, vitamin d, sugar

Additives: E321 Butylated hydroxytoluene

As written on the pack

MILLED CORN, ŠUGAR MALT FLAVORING, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SALT, SODIUM ASCORBATE AND ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), NIACINA - MIDE, IRON, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLO - RIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, FOLIC ACID, BHT (PRESERVATIVE), VITAMIN B12 AND VITAMIN D. SUGAR,

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
3 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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 61 corn flakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 57th. 28% of the corn 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 61 corn flakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0038000199066, last edited 4 March 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.