Is Prego Homestyle Alfredo ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 45 ingredients
- 1 additive
- Nutri-Score D
Less processed sauces
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Water, cream, butter (processing marker) (cream, salt (processing marker)), parmesan cheese (processing marker) (part-skim milk, cultures, salt (processing marker), enzymes), enzyme modified egg yolks, modified food starch (ultra-processing marker), soybean oil (processing marker), contains less than 2% of (salt (processing marker)), romano cheese (processing marker) (cow's milk, cultures, salt (processing marker), enzymes), sugar (processing marker), whey (ultra-processing marker), enzyme modified cheese paste (granular, parmesan cheese (processing marker) (milk, cultures, salt (processing marker), enzymes), water, sodium phosphate, enzymes), sodium phosphate, xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker), garlic, black pepper, yeast extract, cheddar cheese (processing marker) (milk, cultures, salt (processing marker), enzymes), bay leaves, natural flavoring (ultra-processing marker), anhydrous milkfat
Additives: E415 Xanthan gum
As written on the pack
Water, cream, butter (cream, salt), parmesan cheese (part-skim milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), enzyme modified egg yolks, modified food starch, soybean oil, contains less than 2% of: salt, romano cheese (part-skim cow's milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), sugar, whey, enzyme modified cheese paste (granular and parmesan cheese [ milk, cultures, salt, enzymes], water, sodium phosphate, enzymes), sodium phosphate, xanthan gum, garlic, black pepper, yeast extract, cheddar cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), bay leaves, natural flavoring, anhydrous milkfat. contains: egg, milk.
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.
- E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
- 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.
- 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.
6 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.
- Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
- 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 oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
- Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
Among 18 alfredo sauces
From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 94% of the alfredo sauces here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0051000197597, last edited 29 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 D (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.