Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kirkland Signature Gourmet Chocolate Chunk Cookies ultra-processed?

24 cookies Chocolate biscuits Sold in the United States

Pack of Kirkland Signature Gourmet Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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:

  • 36 ingredients
  • 9 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate biscuits

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

chocolate chunks (sugar, chocolate liquor, chocolate, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin, soy lecithin, vanilla, milk), enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitarte, riboflavin, folic acid), canola oil, sugar, eggs, invert sugar, molasses, whey powder, whey protein, NATURAL and ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum sulfate, corn starch, calcium sulfate, monocalcium phosphate), spices (annatto, turmeric), salt

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E521 Aluminium sodium sulphate

As written on the pack

CHOCOLATE CHUNKS (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN OR SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA, MILK), ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITARTE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), CANOLA OIL, SUGAR, EGGS, INVERT SUGAR, MOLASSES, WHEY POWDER, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, NATURAL & ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, LEAVENING (SODIUM BICARBONATE, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, SODIUM ALUMINUM SULFATE, CORN STARCH, CALCIUM SULFATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SPICES (ANNATTO AND TURMERIC), SALT.

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.

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.

  • 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.
  • 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.
4 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 301 chocolate biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 200th. 95% of the chocolate biscuits 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 301 chocolate biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0096619372201, last edited 1 April 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.