Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Lean Cuisine Four Cheese Pizza ultra-processed?

6 oz Frozen pizzas Sold in the United States

Pack of Lean Cuisine Four Cheese Pizza

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:

  • 45 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed frozen pizzas

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

Crust (flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, yeast, soybean oil, sugar, soluble corn product, dried garlic), mozzarella cheese (part-skim milk, skim milk, modified cornstarch, salt, vitamin a palmitate, enzymes, ingredient not in regular mozzarella cheese), water, tomato paste, seasoning (maltodextrin, modified cornstarch, sugar, salt, dextrose, spices, spice, dried garlic, citric acid, xanthan gum), and less of parmesan 2%, asiago, and romano cheese blend (cow's milk, salt, enzymes), modified cornstarch, salt, garlic powder, spice

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Crust (enriched flour [wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], water, yeast, soybean oil, sugar, soluble corn product, dried garlic), reduced fat mozzarella cheese (cultured part-skim milk and skim milk, modified cornstarch*, salt, vitamin a palmitate, enzymes, *ingredient not in regular mozzarella cheese), water, tomato paste, seasoning (maltodextrin, modified cornstarch, sugar, salt, dextrose, spices, spice extractives, dried garlic, citric acid, xanthan gum), 2% or less of parmesan, asiago, and romano cheese blend (cultured part-skim cow's milk, salt, enzymes), modified cornstarch, salt, garlic powder, spice.

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.

  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
6 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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • 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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 191 frozen pizzas

From least to most processed, this one ranks 153rd. 84% of the frozen pizzas 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 frozen pizzas, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0013800047199, last edited 20 August 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.