Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kirkland Mini muffin bites ultra-processed?

47 g Muffins Sold in the United States

Pack of Kirkland Mini muffin bites

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:

  • 33 ingredients
  • 11 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed muffins

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

sugar, flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), eggs, canola oil, semi-sweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, dextrose, butterfat, soy lecithin, natural flavor), water, invert sugar, soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate, salt, egg whites, cellulose gum, whey protein, potassium sorbate (preservative), gum acacia, guar gum, xanthan gum, enzymes

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E412 Guar gum , E414 Acacia gum , E415 Xanthan gum , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E466 Sodium carboxy methyl cellulose

As written on the pack

SUGAR, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), EGGS, CANOLA OIL, SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR, COCOA BUTTER, DEXTROSE, BUTTERFAT, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVOR), WATER, INVERT SUGAR, SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SALT, DRIED EGG WHITES, CELLULOSE GUM, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE), GUM ACACIA, GUAR GUM, XANTHAN GUM, ENZYMES. Contains: WHEAT, EGG, MILK, SOY.

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.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.
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  • 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.
  • Invert sugar Invert sugar is ordinary sugar split into glucose and fructose with acid or enzymes.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
6 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.

  • E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 49 muffins

From least to most processed, this one ranks 41st. 90% of the muffins 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 49 muffins, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0196633860934, last edited 5 September 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.