Is Philadelphia cottage cheese ultra-processed?

200 Cottage cheeses Sold in Ireland

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E412 Guar gum

6 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score B

Less processed cottage cheeses

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

Low fat soft CHEESE (processing marker), salt (processing marker), guar gum (ultra-processing marker), Made with pasteurised milk, Suitable for 4% 17g 8% 3.0 1%) Keep refrigerated, e200g PHIL 3.0 3%

Additives: E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

Low fat soft CHEESE, salt, stabiliser (guar gum). Made with pasteurised milk. Suitable for 4% 17g 8% 3.0 1%) Keep refrigerated. e 200 g PHIL 3.0 3%

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.

2 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.
Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 95 cottage cheeses

From least to most processed, this one ranks 56th. 44% of the cottage cheeses 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 95 cottage cheeses, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7622202365386, last edited 29 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.