Is Lifeway Farmer Cheese Reduced Fat ultra-processed?

32 g Cheeses Sold in the United States

It's processed, but not ultra-processed

Whole foods combined with:

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

cultured pasteurized grade a low fat milk, potassium sorbate (processing marker) (to maintain freshness (processing marker))

Additives: E202 Potassium sorbate

As written on the pack

CULTURED PASTEURIZED GRADE A LOW FAT MILK, POTASSIUM SORBATE (TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS).

Keep food safe or ferment it, like preservatives and cultures. A sign of processing, not ultra-processing.

E202 Potassium sorbate 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.
Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.

Open Food Facts puts every product in this category in at least this group.

From least to most processed, this one ranks 632nd. 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.

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0017077201162, last edited 7 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 B (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.