Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Quaker Instant Oatmeal Apples & Cranberries ultra-processed?

1.79 oz Breakfast cereals Sold in the United States

Pack of Quaker Instant Oatmeal Apples & Cranberries

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:

  • 19 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed breakfast cereals

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, apples (treated with sodium sulfite to promote color retention), whey protein isolate, maltodextrin, cranberries, natural flavor, salt, calcium carbonate, malic acid, soy lecithin, niacinamide, reduced iron, vitamin a palmitate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid

Additives: E296 Malic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

Whole grain rolled oats, sugar, dehydrated apples (treated with sodium sulfite to promote color retention), whey protein isolate, maltodextrin, cranberries, natural flavor, salt, calcium carbonate, malic acid, soy lecithin, niacinamide, reduced iron, vitamin a palmitate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid.

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.
  • 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.

  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
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 1,869 breakfast cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1676th. 60% of the breakfast cereals 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 1,869 breakfast cereals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0030000319550, last edited 20 May 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.