Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Panera 100% whole wheat ultra-processed?

Breads Sold in the United States

Pack of Panera 100% whole wheat

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:

  • 17 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed breads

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

whole wheat flour, water, whole wheat flour, yeast, brown sugar, wheat gluten, soybean oil, canola oil, wheat bran, wheat flour, salt, vinegar, rye flour, lactic acid, ascorbic acid, enzymes, soy lecithin

Additives: E270 Lactic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

whole wheat flour, water, sprouted whole wheat flour, yeast, brown sugar, wheat gluten, soybean oil and/or canola oil, wheat bran, cultured wheat flour, salt, vinegar, fermented rye flour, lactic acid, ascorbic acid, enzymes, 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.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
3 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 2,388 breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1363rd. 71% of the breads 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 2,388 breads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0835841006818, last edited 5 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 B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.