Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Kroger Mexican Style Blend Shredded Cheese ultra-processed?

28 g Cheeses Sold in the United States

Pack of Kroger Mexican Style Blend Shredded Cheese

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cheeses

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

montery jack cheese (milk, cheese culture salt, enzymes), cheddar cheese, oasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto (for color), QUESO QUESADILLA and ASADERO CHEESE (milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), potato strach, corn strach, dextrose, natamycin (a natural mold inhibitor)

Additives: E160b Annatto , E235 Natamycin

As written on the pack

MONTERY JACK CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURE SALT, ENZYMES,), CHEDDAR CHEESE (OASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES, ANNATTO (FOR COLOR), QUESO QUESADILLA AND ASADERO CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), POTATO STRACH, CORN STRACH, DEXTROSE AND 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.

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.
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 1,224 cheeses

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1085th. 38% of the cheeses 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 1,224 cheeses, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0011110502049, last edited 4 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.