Is it ultra-processed?
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Is La Boulangerie Smoked Ham & Swiss Cheese Pockets ultra-processed?

85 g Sandwiches Sold in the United States

Pack of La Boulangerie Smoked Ham & Swiss Cheese Pockets

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:

  • 42 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed sandwiches

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

flour (wheat flour, enzyme, wheat starch, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, tricalcium phosphate, folic acid), low sodium smoked ham (water, potassium lactate, dextrose, salt, potassium chloride, sodium phosphates, sodium diacetate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite), swiss cheese (part-skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), water, butter (cream, natural flavor), sugar, milk powder, yeast, sea salt, wheat flour, xanthan gum, guar gum, deactivated yeast, enzymes, ascorbic acid, milk protein (casein), deactivated yeast

Additives: E250 Sodium nitrite , E262 Sodium acetates , E262ii Sodium diacetate , E300 Ascorbic acid , E316 Sodium erythorbate , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, ENZYME, WHEAT STARCH, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, FOLIC ACID), LOW SODIUM SMOKED HAM (WATER, POTASSIUM LACTATE, DEXTROSE, SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, SODIUM DIACETATE, SODIUM ERYTHORBATE, SODIUM NITRITE), SWISS CHEESE (PART-SKIM MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), WATER, BUTTER (CREAM, NATURAL FLAVOR), SUGAR, MILK POWDER, YEAST, SEA SALT, DOUGH CONDITIONER (WHEAT FLOUR, XANTHAN GUM, GUAR GUM, DEACTIVATED YEAST, ENZYMES, ASCORBIC ACID), MILK PROTEIN (CASEIN), DEACTIVATED YEAST.

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.

  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.

  • Casein Casein is the main protein in milk, separated industrially and used to bind, emulsify and add protein.
  • 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.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
8 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.

  • E250 Sodium nitrite Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • Sandwiches Products in the category "Sandwiches" are at least group 3.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 324 sandwiches

From least to most processed, this one ranks 275th. 82% of the sandwiches 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 324 sandwiches, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0850039896477, last edited 3 October 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.