Is Pirate's Booty Pirate& booty aged white cheddar puffs ultra-processed?

4 oz Cheddar cheese 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:

Whey

16 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score D

Less processed cheddar cheese

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

cornmeal, rice flour, vegetable oil (processing marker) (canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil), cheddar cheese (processing marker) (cultured milk, salt (processing marker), enzymes), whey (ultra-processing marker), buttermilk, salt (processing marker), citric acid, sea salt (processing marker), black pepper extract

Additives: E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

cornmeal, rice flour, vegetable oil (expeller pressed canola oil and/or sunflower oil and/or corn oil), cheddar cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), dried whey, dried buttermilk, salt, citric acid, sea salt, black pepper extract,

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.

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.

Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 155 cheddar cheese

From least to most processed, this one ranks 124th. 28% of the cheddar cheese 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 155 cheddar cheese, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0015665601004, last edited 17 January 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.