Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Pop-Tarts Frosted S'mores ultra-processed?

13.5 oz Pastries Sold in the United Kingdom, the United States and France

Pack of Pop-Tarts Frosted S'mores

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:

  • 37 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed pastries

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, reduced iron, vitamin b1 (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), folic acid), sugar, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, soybean, palm oil (with tbhq for freshness), corn syrup, whole wheat flour, wheat flour, whey, contains 2% and less of molasses, cocoa processed with alkali, cornstarch, baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, milk chocolate (sugar, milk, cocoa butter, chocolate), salt, modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, gelatin, egg whites, color added, xanthan gum

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E415 Xanthan gum , E428 Gelatine , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate , E541 Sodium aluminium phosphate

As written on the pack

enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin b1 [thiamin mononitrate], vitamin b2 [riboflavin], folic acid), sugar, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, soybean and palm oil (with tbhq for freshness), corn syrup, whole wheat flour, bleached wheat flour, whey, contains 2% or less of molasses, cocoa processed with alkali, cornstarch, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate), milk chocolate (sugar, milk, cocoa butter, chocolate), salt, modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, gelatin, egg whites, color added, xanthan gum,

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • E428 Gelatine Gelatine is a gelling agent made from collagen in animal skin and bones.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.
  • High fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch: enzymes break it down to glucose and convert part of that into fructose, giving a syrup about as sweet as table sugar.
  • 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.
  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 205 pastries

From least to most processed, this one ranks 175th. 87% of the pastries 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 205 pastries, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0038000222795, last edited 26 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.