Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Nissin Top Ramen Chicken Flavor ultra-processed?

3.421 oz Noodles Sold in the United States

Pack of Nissin Top Ramen Chicken Flavor

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:

  • 55 ingredients
  • 12 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed noodles

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

flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), palm oil, tapioca starch, salt, carrot, water, sugar, contains less than 2% of autolyzed yeast extract, beta carotene color, caramel color, citric acid, chicken stock, corn syrup, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, disodium succinate, corn, green onion, leek, red bell pepper, egg white, garlic powder, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed corn protein, hydrolyzed soy protein, lactose, maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavor, onion powder, potassium carbonate, potassium chloride, chicken, rendered chicken fat, rice, silicon dioxide, sodium carbonate, sodium phosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, soybean, spice, color, succinic acid, sucralose, tbhq (preservative), vinegar, wheat, xanthan gum

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E319 Tertiary-butylhydroquinone (tbhq) , E330 Citric acid , E363 Succinic acid , E415 Xanthan gum , E452 Polyphosphates , E452vi Sodium tripolyphosphate , E501 Potassium carbonates , E501i Potassium carbonate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate , E955 Sucralose

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), palm oil, tapioca starch, salt, dried carrot flake, water, sugar, contains less than 2% of autolyzed yeast extract, beta carotene color, caramel color, citric acid, concentrated chicken stock, corn syrup, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, disodium succinate, dried corn, dried green onion, dried leek flake, dried red bell pepper, egg white, garlic powder, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed corn protein, hydrolyzed soy protein, lactose, maltodextrin, natural and artificial flavor, onion powder, potassium carbonate, potassium chloride, powdered chicken, rendered chicken fat, rice, silicon dioxide, sodium carbonate, sodium phosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, soybean, spice and color, succinic acid, sucralose, tbhq (preservative), vinegar, wheat, xanthan gum.

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.

  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E452 Polyphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.
  • 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.
  • E955 Sucralose Sucralose is a sweetener made by chlorinating sugar.
Show 2 more
  • 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.

  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn 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.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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 416 noodles

From least to most processed, this one ranks 399th. 73% of the noodles 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 416 noodles, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0070662026038, last edited 17 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.