Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Kodiak Protein-Packed Muffin Microwaveable Cup - Double Dark Chocolate ultra-processed?

Muffins Sold in the United States

Pack of Kodiak Protein-Packed Muffin Microwaveable Cup - Double Dark Chocolate

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:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 6 additives

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

wheat flour 100%, cane sugar, oat flour 100%, semisweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, dextrose, sunflower lecithin), palm oil, cocoa (processed with 15% alkali), vital wheat gluten, whey protein, milk protein concentrate, monocalcium phosphate, baking soda, sea salt

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

100% whole grain wheat flour, cane sugar, 100% whole grain oat flour, semisweet chocolate chips (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, dextrose, sunflower lecithin), palm oil, cocoa (processed with 15% alkali), vital wheat gluten, whey protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, leavening (monocalcium phosphate, baking soda), sea 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.

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.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
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.
  • 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 25th. 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 0705599011542, last edited 2 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.