Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kraft heese ultra-processed?

226 g Cheddar cheese Sold in the United States

Pack of Kraft heese

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:

  • 10 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

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 (Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto (Color)), Modified Cornstarch Added to Prevent Caking, Natamycin (a Natural Mold Inhibitor)

Additives: E160b Annatto , E235 Natamycin

As written on the pack

Cheddar Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto [Color]), Modified Cornstarch Added to Prevent Caking, Natamycin (a Natural Mold Inhibitor).

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.

  • E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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.

  • Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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 142nd. 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 0021000055357, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.