Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Pringles salt and vinegar ultra-processed?

200 g Stacked extruded potato crisps Sold in the United Kingdom and France

Pack of Pringles salt and vinegar

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:

  • 29 ingredients
  • 7 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed stacked extruded potato crisps

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

potatoes, vegetable oils (sunflower, corn), rice flour, wheat starch, corn flour, salt, vinegar seasoning (flavourings (barley), potato starch, lactose, maltodextrin, flavour enhancers (monosodium glutamate, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate), salt, acids (citric acid, malic acid), sunflower oil), emulsifier (e471), maltodextrin, salt, colour (annatto)

Additives: E160b Annatto , E296 Malic acid , E330 Citric acid , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

As written on the pack

Dehydrated potatoes, vegetable oils (sunflower, corn), rice flour, wheat starch, corn flour, salt and vinegar seasoning (flavourings (barley), potato starch, lactose (milk), maltodextrin, flavour enhancers (monosodium glutamate, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate), salt, acids (citric acid, malic acid), sunflower oil), emulsifier (E471), maltodextrin, salt, colour (annatto).

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.

  • E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.
  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • E627 Disodium guanylate Disodium guanylate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • E631 Disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavour enhancer Flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate (E621) strengthen savoury taste without adding a flavour of their own.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
4 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.

  • Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 48 stacked extruded potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 33rd. 96% of the stacked extruded potato crisps 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 48 stacked extruded potato crisps, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 5053990138746, last edited 2 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.