Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup ultra-processed?

3 lb (1.36 kg) Soups Sold in the United States

Pack of Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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:

  • 49 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed soups

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

Milk, Chicken Stock (Water, Chicken Base (Chicken Meat Including Chicken Juices, Salt, Chicken Fat, Yeast Extract, Sugar, Natural Flavor, Potato Flour, Carrot Powder, Turmeric)), Water, Broccoli, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Heavy Cream, Carrots, Corn Starch, Contains 2% and less of (Onions, Wheat Flour, Whey, Whey Protein, Skim Milk, Milkfat, Butter (Cream, Salt), Dijon Mustard (Water, Mustard Seed, Vinegar, Salt, Spice), Oleoresin Paprika, Annatto, Sodium Citrate, Salt, Lactic Acid, Nisin Preparation, Hot Pepper Sauce (Distilled Vinegar, Red Pepper, Salt))

Additives: E160b Annatto , E160c Paprika extract , E270 Lactic acid , E331 Sodium citrates

As written on the pack

Milk, Chicken Stock (Water, Chicken Base (Chicken Meat Including Chicken Juices, Salt, Chicken Fat, Yeast Extract, Sugar, Natural Flavor, Potato Flour, Carrot Powder, Turmeric)), Water, Broccoli, Cheddar Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Heavy Cream, Carrots, Corn Starch, Contains 2% or less of (Onions, Wheat Flour, Whey, Whey Protein Concentrate, Skim Milk, Milkfat, Butter (Cream, Salt), Dijon Mustard (Water, Mustard Seed, Vinegar, Salt, Spice), Oleoresin Paprika & Annatto, Sodium Citrate, Salt, Lactic Acid, Nisin Preparation, Hot Pepper Sauce (Distilled Vinegar, Red Pepper, Salt))

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.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • 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.

  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • 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.
6 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.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 722 soups

From least to most processed, this one ranks 623rd. 63% of the soups 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 722 soups, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0077958790918, last edited 11 May 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.