Is Nalley 99% Fat Free Vegetarian Chili With Beans ultra-processed?

Stews Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
Modified starch
E322 Lecithins
E621 Monosodium glutamate

25 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score B

Less processed stews

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

water, beans, soy flour, contains 2% and less of (tomato paste), modified corn starch (ultra-processing marker), flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron (reduced), thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), natural flavors (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), hydrolyzed soy protein, monosodium glutamate (ultra-processing marker), yeast extract, sugar (processing marker), spices, paprika, citric acid, soy lecithin (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate

As written on the pack

water, beans, soy flour, contains 2% or less of: tomato paste, modified corn starch, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron [reduced], thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), natural flavors, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, monosodium glutamate, yeast extract, sugar, spices, paprika, citric acid, soy 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.
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.

4 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 33 stews

From least to most processed, this one ranks 28th. 73% of the stews 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 33 stews, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0041321241710, last edited 25 October 2022), 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.