Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lay's Sour Cream & Onion ultra-processed?

220g Potato crisps Sold in the United States

Pack of Lay's Sour Cream & Onion

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:

  • 14 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed 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

specially selected potatoes, vegetable oil, seasoning (milk ingredients, salt, onion, maltodextrin, sour cream, dextrose, monosodium glutamate, palm oil, parsley, citric acid, natural and artificial flavour)

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate

As written on the pack

specially selected potatoes, vegetable oil, seasoning (modified milk ingredients, salt, onion powder, maltodextrin, sour cream, dextrose, monosodium glutamate, palm oil, parsley, citric acid, natural and artificial flavour)

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.

  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • 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.

  • 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.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • Milk coating An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
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.

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

How the NOVA groups work

Among 622 potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 561st. 66% of the 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 622 potato crisps, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0060410079492, last edited 25 June 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.