Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kirkland Cinnamon Chip Muffin ultra-processed?

30 oz Pastries Sold in the United States

Pack of Kirkland Cinnamon Chip Muffin

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:

  • 43 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed pastries

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, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, butter, cream, milk, salt, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, sugar, palm kernel oil, palm oil, whey powder, cinnamon, nonfat dry milk, soy lecithin, salt, natural flavor, brown sugar, sour cream, cultured cream, whole milk, milk, vitamin D, cinnamon, corn starch, soybean oil, leavening, sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate, modified corn starch, vanilla extract, enzymes, egg white, whey, soy flour

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

bleached enriched flour, wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, butter, cream, milk, salt, sugar, eggs, cinnamon chips, sugar, palm kernel oil, palm oil, whey powder, cinnamon, nonfat dry milk, soy lecithin, salt, natural flavor, brown sugar, sour cream, cultured cream, whole milk, pasteurized milk, vitamin D, cinnamon, corn starch, soybean oil, leavening, sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate, modified corn starch, vanilla extract, enzymes, egg white, whey, soy flour

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

  • 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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 205 pastries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 114th. 87% of the pastries 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 205 pastries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 18813975, last edited 20 February 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.