Is Kraft Fat Free Natural Cheddar Cheese ultra-processed?

Cheddar cheese Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
E171 Titanium dioxide

14 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed cheddar cheese

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

cheddar cheese (processing marker) (pasteurized skim milk, cheese culture, salt (processing marker), enzymes, yeast, natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), colored (with annatto, titanium dioxide (ultra-processing marker)), vitamin a palmitate), modified cornstarch added to prevent caking, natamycin (anatural mold inhibitor)

Additives: E171 Titanium dioxide , E235 Natamycin

As written on the pack

nonfat cheddar cheese (pasteurized skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, yeast*, natural flavor*, colored with annatto and titanium dioxide, vitamin a palmitate), modified cornstarch added to prevent caking, natamycin (anatural mold inhibitor) *ingredient not in regular cheddar cheese contains: milk.

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.

E171 Titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide is a white pigment.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

3 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.

Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 155 cheddar cheese

From least to most processed, this one ranks 143rd. 28% of the cheddar cheese 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 155 cheddar cheese, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0021000054404, last edited 28 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.