Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Near East COUSCOUS MIX Parmesan ultra-processed?

5.9 oz Cereals and their products Sold in the United States

Pack of Near East COUSCOUS MIX Parmesan

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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cereals and their products

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

Durum wheat semolina, whey, parmesan cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), salt, autolyzed yeast extract, buttermilk, cheddar cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), sunflower oil, olive oil, parsley, blue cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), natural flavor, romano cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), yeast extract, soy protein isolate, annatto (color), soybean oil

Additives: E160b Annatto

As written on the pack

Durum wheat semolina, whey, parmesan cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), salt, autolyzed yeast extract, cultured buttermilk, cheddar cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), sunflower oil, olive oil, parsley*, blue cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), natural flavor, romano cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), yeast extract, soy protein isolate, annatto (color), soybean oil.

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.

  • E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • 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.

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.

  • 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.
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.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 5,078 cereals and their products

From least to most processed, this one ranks 4235th. 57% of the cereals and their products 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 5,078 cereals and their products, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0072251001563, last edited 21 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.