Is Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese Spread ultra-processed?

500g Cream cheeses Sold in Canada

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Milk
E410 Locust bean gum

21 ingredients
5 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed cream 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

milk ingredients (ultra-processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Bacterial culture, Lactic acid, Carob bean gum (ultra-processing marker), Potassium sorbate (processing marker), Sorbic acid, May be omitted, Ingrédients (Substances laitières modifiées), Sel, Culture bactérienne, Acide lactique, Gomme de caroube, Sorbate de potassium, Acide sorbique*.*Peut être omis, Contient (Lait, IN 10 DAYS OF OPENING MEILLEUR SI CONSOMMÉ DANS LES 10 JOURS SUIVANT L'OUVERTURE DU POT-BEST BEFORE DATE SHOWN ON BOTTOM-MEILLEUR AVANT LA DATE INDIQUÉE SOUS LE CREAM CHEESE PRODUCT PRODUIT DE FROMAGE À LA CRÈME Kraft Heinz KRAFT HEINZ CANADA 500 g 500 g TORONTO), M3B 3L6 kraftcanada.com 1-855-CHEESE-9 1-855-243-3739 Al AIRY, mk 330

Additives: E200 Sorbic acid , E202 Potassium sorbate , E270 Lactic acid , E330 Citric acid , E410 Locust bean gum

As written on the pack

Modified milk ingredients, Salt, Bacterial culture, Lactic acid, Carob bean gum, Potassium sorbate, Sorbic acid*. *May be omitted. Contains: Milk. Ingrédients : Substances laitières modifiées, Sel, Culture bactérienne, Acide lactique, Gomme de caroube, Sorbate de potassium, Acide sorbique*.*Peut être omis. Contient : Lait. IN 10 DAYS OF OPENING MEILLEUR SI CONSOMMÉ DANS LES 10 JOURS SUIVANT L'OUVERTURE DU POT-BEST BEFORE DATE SHOWN ON BOTTOM-MEILLEUR AVANT LA DATE INDIQUÉE SOUS LE CREAM CHEESE PRODUCT PRODUIT DE FROMAGE À LA CRÈME Kraft Heinz KRAFT HEINZ CANADA 500 g 500 g TORONTO, ONTARIO M3B 3L6 kraftcanada.com 1-855-CHEESE-9 1-855-243-3739 Al AIRY (MK 330

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.

E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.

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 An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.

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.

E202 Potassium sorbate Preservatives are substances which prolong the shelf-life of foods by protecting them against deterioration caused by micro-organisms and/or which protect against growth of pathogenic micro-organisms.
Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 122 cream cheeses

From least to most processed, this one ranks 87th. 64% of the cream 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 122 cream cheeses, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0068100896473, last edited 1 April 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 D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.