Is Maruchan Instant Lunch Hot & Spicy Chicken Flavor Ramen Noodle Soup ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- Flavouring
- Lactose
- Maltodextrin
- E322 Lecithins
- E621 Monosodium glutamate
- E627 Disodium guanylate
- and 1 more
- 51 ingredients
- 7 additives
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Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable oil (processing marker) (contains one and more of the following (canola), cottonseed, palm), preserved by tbhq, salt (processing marker), vegetables (corn, carrot, onion, garlic, chive), maltodextrin (ultra-processing marker), contains less than 2% of (sugar (processing marker)), monosodium glutamate (ultra-processing marker), spices (celery seed), soy sauce (processing marker) (wheat, soybeans, salt (processing marker)), chicken, chicken fat, citric acid, yeast extract, hydrolyzed corn, wheat, soy protein, potassium carbonate, natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), sodium (mono, hexameta, and tripoly), phosphate, turmeric, sodium carbonate, disodium inosinate (ultra-processing marker), disodium guanylate (ultra-processing marker), chicken broth, lactose (ultra-processing marker), soya lecithin (ultra-processing marker)
Additives: E319 Tertiary-butylhydroquinone (tbhq) , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate
As written on the pack
Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: canola, cottonseed, palm) preserved by tbhq, salt, dehydrated vegetables (corn, carrot, onion, garlic, chive), maltodextrin, contains less than 2% of: sugar, monosodium glutamate, spices (celery seed), dehydrated soy sauce (wheat, soybeans, salt), powdered cooked chicken, chicken fat, citric acid, yeast extract, hydrolyzed corn, wheat and soy protein, potassium carbonate, natural flavor, sodium (mono, hexameta, and/or tripoly) phosphate, turmeric, sodium carbonate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, chicken broth, lactose, soya lecithin.
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.
- 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.
- E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
- E627 Disodium guanylate Disodium guanylate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
- E631 Disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
- 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.
- Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
- Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
5 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.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
- Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
- Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.
Among 242 instant noodles
From least to most processed, this one ranks 149th. 93% of the instant noodles here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0041789001437, last edited 11 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.
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.