Is Philadelphia Medium fat soft cheese with chives ultra-processed?

165g Cheese spreads Sold in the United Kingdom

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E407 Carrageenan
E412 Guar gum

13 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score C

Less processed cheese spreads

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

medium fat soft cheese (processing marker), chives, salt (processing marker), stabilisers (guar gum (ultra-processing marker), carrageenan (ultra-processing marker)), acid (citric acid), made with pasteurised milk, de ni 12060 eg 7 622201 693831, gt (iii), mondelēz international v 3263168

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E407 Carrageenan , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

medium fat soft cheese, chives, salt, stabilisers (guar gum, carrageenan), acid (citric acid), suitable for vegetarians, made with pasteurised milk, de ni 12060 eg 7 622201 693831 ,gt, (iii) mondelēz international v suitable for vegetarians 3263168

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.

E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.

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.

Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 112 cheese spreads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 67th. 78% of the cheese spreads 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 112 cheese spreads, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 7622201693831, last edited 1 August 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.