Is Near East Pearled Couscous Mix Basil & Herb ultra-processed?

5 Ounce/144 g Cereals and their products 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

28 ingredients
No additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed cereals and their products

Sprouted Rolled Oats One Degree Organic Foods 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Old Fashioned Oats Quaker Oats 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Quick 1-Minute Oats Quaker Oats 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Old Fashioned 100% Whole Grain Rolled Oats Quaker Oats 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1

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

Couscous (wheat), garlic, autolyzed yeast extract, parmesan cheese (processing marker) (milk, cultures, salt (processing marker), enzymes), salt (processing marker), basil, onions, sunflower oil (processing marker), butter (processing marker) (cream, salt (processing marker)), nonfat milk, olive oil (processing marker), yeast extract, parsley, romano cheese (processing marker) (milk, cultures, salt (processing marker), enzymes), natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), soy protein isolate, dried

As written on the pack

Couscous (wheat), garlic*, autolyzed yeast extract, parmesan cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), salt, basil, onions*, sunflower oil, butter (cream, salt), cultured nonfat milk, olive oil, yeast extract, parsley*, romano cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), natural flavor, soy protein isolate. *dried

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.

Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
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 2663rd. 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 0072251003536, last edited 8 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.