Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies ultra-processed?

450g Biscuits Sold in the United States

Pack of Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies

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:

  • 65 ingredients
  • 26 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed biscuits

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

corn syrup, flour (wheat flour, barley malt, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin b1), riboflavin, folic acid), palm, soybean oils with tbhq and citric acid to protect flavor, sugar, oats, water, dextrose, molasses, raisins, contains 2% and less of each of the following (soy flour), leavening (baking soda, ammonium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate), whey, salt, soy lecithin, corn starch, mono- and diglycerides, sorbitan monostearate, polysorbate 60, eggs, palm and palm kernel oil, egg whites, cocoa processed with alkali, high fructose corn syrup, rice flour, nonfat dry milk, modified corn starch, datem, modified tapioca starch, carrageenan, colors (caramel color, titanium dioxide, red 40, beta carotene, annatto, turmeric, yellow 5, blue 1), sorbic acid (to preserve freshness), spices, natural and artificial flavors, citric acid, malic acid, propylene glycol monostearate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, polysorbate 80, pectin, sodium citrate, modified wheat starch, chocolate, cocoa butter

Additives: E102 Tartrazine , E129 Allura red , E133 Brilliant blue FCF , E150c Ammonia caramel , E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E171 Titanium dioxide , E200 Sorbic acid , E296 Malic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E407 Carrageenan , E433 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate , E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate , E440 Pectins , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate , E491 Sorbitan monostearate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E503 Ammonium carbonates , E503ii Ammonium hydrogen carbonate , E541 Sodium aluminium phosphate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

corn syrup, enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, barley malt, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate [vitamin b1], riboflavin [vitamin b2], folic acid), palm and soybean oils with tbhq and citric acid to protect flavor, sugar, whole grain oats, water, dextrose, molasses, raisins, contains 2% or less of each of the following: soy flour, leavening (baking soda, ammonium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate), whey, salt, soy lecithin, corn starch, mono - and diglycerides, sorbitan monostearate, polysorbate 60, eggs, palm and palm kernel oil, egg whites, cocoa processed with alkali, high fructose corn syrup, rice flour, nonfat dry milk, modified corn starch, datem, modified tapioca starch, carrageenan, colors (caramel color, titanium dioxide, red 40, beta carotene, annatto extract, turmeric, yellow 5, blue 1), sorbic acid (to preserve freshness), spices, natural and artificial flavors, citric acid, malic acid, propylene glycol monostearate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, polysorbate 80, pectin, sodium citrate, modified wheat starch, chocolate, cocoa butter,

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.

  • E102 Tartrazine Tartrazine is a synthetic yellow azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 5 in the US).
  • E129 Allura red Allura red AC is a synthetic red azo dye (FD&C Red No. 40 in the US).
  • E133 Brilliant blue FCF Brilliant blue FCF is a synthetic blue dye, listed in the US as FD&C Blue No. 1.
  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E171 Titanium dioxide Titanium dioxide is a white pigment.
Show 12 more
  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
  • E433 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate Polysorbate 80 is a synthetic emulsifier used in ice cream and some sauces to keep fats evenly dispersed.
  • E435 Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E472e Mono- and diacetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • E481 Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • E491 Sorbitan monostearate Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • 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.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn 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.

  • 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 fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
  • 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 1,514 biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1514th. 83% of the biscuits 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 1,514 biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0024300041013, last edited 8 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.