Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Pillsbury Crescent Dough Sheet ultra-processed?

8 oz Pie dough Sold in the United States

Pack of Pillsbury Crescent Dough Sheet

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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 11 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed pie dough

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

flour (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, vegetable shortening (soybean, palm oil, hydrogenated palm oil, fractionated palm oil, water, mono- and diglycerides, tbhq, citric acid (preservatives), beta carotene (for color)), sugar, baking powder (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate), contains 2% and less of (vital wheat gluten), monoglycerides, dextrose, salt, potassium chloride, xanthan gum, annatto (for color)

Additives: E160a Carotene , E160ai Beta-carotene , E319 Tertiary-butylhydroquinone (tbhq) , E330 Citric acid , E415 Xanthan gum , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E541 Sodium aluminium phosphate

As written on the pack

Enriched flour bleached (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, vegetable shortening (soybean and palm oil, hydrogenated palm oil, fractionated palm oil, water, mono and diglycerides, tbhq and citric acid [preservatives], beta carotene [for color]), sugar, baking powder (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate). contains 2% or less of: vital wheat gluten, monoglycerides, dextrose, salt, potassium chloride, xanthan gum, annatto extract (for color).

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.

  • E160a Carotene Carotenes are orange-yellow pigments, either synthesised or extracted from carrots, algae or palm oil.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.

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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Hydrogenated oil Hydrogenation turns liquid oil into a solid fat that resists going rancid.
5 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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 41 pie dough

From least to most processed, this one ranks 38th. 66% of the pie dough 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 41 pie dough, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 01875708, 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.