Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Quaker instant oatmeal apples and cinnamon ultra-processed?

Cereal flakes Sold in the United States and France

Pack of Quaker instant oatmeal apples and cinnamon

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:

  • 21 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cereal flakes

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

rolled oats, sugar, apple pieces (treated with sodium sulfite to promote color retention), natural and artificial flavor, salt, cinnamon, calcium carbonate, oat flour, citric acid, guar gum, malic acid, niacinamide, reduced iron, vitamin a palmitate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid, caramel color, one of the b vitamins

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E296 Malic acid , E330 Citric acid , E412 Guar gum

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E150c Ammonia caramel.

As written on the pack

whole grain rolled oats, sugar, dehydrated apple pieces (treated with sodium sulfite to promote color retention), natural and artificial flavor, salt, cinnamon, calcium carbonate, oat flour, citric acid, guar gum, malic acid, niacinamide*, reduced iron, vitamin a palmitate, pyridoxine hydrochloride*, riboflavin*, thiamin mononitrate*, folic acid*, caramel color, *one of the b vitamins

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.

  • E150c Ammonia caramel Ammonia caramel is a brown colour made by heating sugars with ammonia compounds.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
2 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 332 cereal flakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 313th. 27% of the cereal flakes 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 332 cereal flakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0030000316788, last edited 4 March 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.