Is Peanut Butter Chex ultra-processed?

Breakfast cereals 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

40 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed breakfast cereals

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

corn, corn meal, peanut butter (peanuts, sugar (processing marker), monoglycerides, salt (processing marker)), sugar (processing marker), corn starch (processing marker), salt (processing marker), canola oil, baking soda, natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), vitamin e (mixed tocopherols), added to preserve freshness, vitamins, minerals (calcium carbonate), vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), iron, zinc (mineral nutrients), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamins, vitamin b1, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin a (palmitate), vitamins, vitamin b2, riboflavin, a b vitamins, folic acid, vitamin b12, vitamin d3

Additives: E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

whole grain corn, corn meal, peanut butter (peanuts, sugar, monoglycerides, salt), sugar, corn starch, salt, canola oil, baking soda, natural flavor, vitamin e (mixed tocopherols) added to preserve freshness,vitamins and minerals: calcium carbonate, vitamin c (sodium ascorbate), iron and zinc (mineral nutrients), a b vitamin (niacinamide), vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin b1 (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin a (palmitate), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), a b vitamin (folic acid), vitamin b12, vitamin d3,

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.

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.
Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,868 breakfast cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1175th. 60% of the breakfast cereals 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 1,868 breakfast cereals, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0016000152335, last edited 26 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.