Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Nature Valley Blueberry Muffin Bars ultra-processed?

Bars Sold in the United States

Pack of Nature Valley Blueberry Muffin Bars

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:

  • 26 ingredients
  • 10 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed bars

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

Wheat Flour, Canola, Palm Oil, Corn Syrup, Blueberries, Sugar, Chicory Root Extract Vegetable Glycerin, Sugarcane Fiber, Fructose, Nonfat Milk, Baking Powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), Egg White, water, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Pectin, distributed by general mills sales, INC, minneapolis, MN 55440 USA Contains Bioengineered Food Leam more at AskGeneralMillscom PRODUCT OF CANADA Carbohydrate Choices (1 1, 2 © General Mills 3434646101)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E422 Glycerol , E440 Pectins , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E422 Glycerol.

As written on the pack

Whole Grain Wheat Flour, Canola and Palm Oil, Corn Syrup, Dried Blueberries, Sugar, Chicory Root Extract Vegetable Glycerin, Sugarcane Fiber, Fructose, Nonfat Milk, Baking Powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), Egg White, water, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Pectin, Natural Flavor CONTAINS WHEAT, MILK, EGG AND SOY DISTRIBUTED BY GENERAL MILLS SALES, INC, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55440 USA Contains Bioengineered Food Leam more at AskGeneralMillscom PRODUCT OF CANADA Carbohydrate Choices: 1 1/2 © General Mills 3434646101

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.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.

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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn 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.

  • 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,328 bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1069th. 89% of the bars 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 1,328 bars, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0016000714328, last edited 31 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.