Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Pasta Roni Shells & White Cheddar ultra-processed?

Cereals and their products Sold in the United States

Pack of Pasta Roni Shells & White Cheddar

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:

  • 30 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

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

wheat flour, palm oil, whey, natural flavor, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), salt, modified corn starch, buttermilk, disodium phosphate, lactic acid, autolyzed yeast extract, blue cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), guar gum, xanthan gum, gelatin, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, niacinamide, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid

Additives: E270 Lactic acid , E339ii Disodium phosphate , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum , E428 Gelatine , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

As written on the pack

wheat flour, palm oil, whey, natural flavor, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), salt, modified corn starch, cultured nonfat buttermilk, disodium phosphate, lactic acid, autolyzed yeast extract, blue cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), guar gum, xanthan gum, gelatin, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, niacinamide, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid,

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.

  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
  • 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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
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  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 5,066 cereals and their products

From least to most processed, this one ranks 4950th. 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 5,066 cereals and their products, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0015300440326, last edited 22 July 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.