Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lay's Potato Chips ultra-processed?

50 g Flavoured potato crisps Sold in the United States, Canada and India

Pack of Lay's Potato Chips

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed flavoured potato crisps

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

potato, edible vegetable oil (sunflower oil, corn oil, and canola oil), spices, condiments, onion powder, chilli, mango, coriander, ginger powder, garlic powder, black pepper powder, turmeric powder, cumin, salt, black salt, sugar, tomato, citric acid, tartaric acid, natural flavors (e160b)

Additives: E160b Annatto , E330 Citric acid , E334 L(+)-tartaric acid

As written on the pack

potato, edible vegetable oil (sunflower oil, corn oil, and/or canola oil), spices and condiments (onion powder, chilli powder, dry mango powder, coriander powder, ginger powder, garlic powder, black pepper powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, salt, black salt, sugar, tomato powder, citric acid, tartaric acid, natural flavors (e160b)

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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
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.

  • Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 191 flavoured potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 73rd. 95% of the flavoured potato crisps 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 191 flavoured potato crisps, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8901491101844, last edited 29 July 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.