Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is King's Hawaiian Soft Pretzel Bites Original Hawaiian Sweet ultra-processed?

Pretzel Sold in the United States

Pack of King's Hawaiian Soft Pretzel Bites Original Hawaiian Sweet

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:

  • 64 ingredients
  • 16 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed pretzel

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, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Sugar, Margarine, Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Water, Salt, Contains 2% and less of (Butter), Sweet Cream Buttermilk Solids, mono- and Diglycerides, Soybean Lecithin, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Beta Carotene (Color), Vitamin A Palmitate, Salt, Eggs, Contains 2% and Less of the Following, Wheat Gluten, Sodium Silicoaluminate, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (One and More of the Following (Soybean Oil), Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, and Cottonseed Oil), Pea Protein, Sunflower Oil, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Potato Flour, Yeast, Sorbitan Monostearate, Ascorbic Acid, Whey, Corn Flour, Monocalcium Phosphate, Enzymes, Soy Flour, Nonfat Milk, Monocalcium Phosphate Monohydrate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Natural Flavor, datem, Calcium Silicate, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), mono- and Diglycerides, Sodium Hydroxide, Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate, Calcium Phosphate, Wheat Starch

Additives: E200 Sorbic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate , E491 Sorbitan monostearate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E517 Ammonium sulphate , E524 Sodium hydroxide , E552 Calcium silicate , E554 Sodium aluminium silicate

As written on the pack

Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Sugar, Margarine [Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Water, Salt, Contains 2% or less of: Butter, Sweet Cream Buttermilk Solids, Mono - & Diglycerides,, Soybean Lecithin, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Beta Carotene (Color), Vitamin A Palmitate), Salt, Eggs, Contains 2% or Less of the Following:, Wheat Gluten, Sodium Silicoaluminate, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (One or More of the Following: Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Coconut Oil,, and Cottonseed Oil), Pea Protein, Sunflower Oil, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Potato Flour, Yeast, Sorbitan Monostearate, Ascorbic Acid, Whey, Corn Flour, Monocalcium Phosphate, Enzymes, Soy Flour, Nonfat Milk, Monocalcium Phosphate Monohydrate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Natural Flavor, DATEM, Calcium Silicate, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Mono - & Diglycerides, Sodium Hydroxide, Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate, Calcium Phosphate, Wheat Starch

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.
  • 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.
  • E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate 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.
  • E491 Sorbitan monostearate 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.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
Show 1 more
  • 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.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Hydrogenated oil Hydrogenation turns liquid oil into a solid fat that resists going rancid.
  • 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.
7 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.

  • Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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 64 pretzel

From least to most processed, this one ranks 63rd. 63% of the pretzel 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 64 pretzel, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0073435000839, last edited 24 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.
  • 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.