Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Quaker Oatmeal Squares ultra-processed?

500 g Extruded cereals Sold in Canada

Pack of Quaker Oatmeal Squares

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
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed extruded 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

oat flour, wheat flour, Sugars (sugar, molasses), Maltodextrin, Barley malt extract, Salt, Baking soda, BHT, Caramel, Tartrazine, Sunset yellow FCF, Iron, Thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), Niacinamide, Calcium pantothenate, Pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), Folic acid

Additives: E102 Tartrazine , E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E321 Butylated hydroxytoluene , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Whole grain oat flour, Whole grain wheat flour, Sugars (sugar, molasses), Maltodextrin, Barley malt extract, Salt, Baking soda, BHT, Caramel, Tartrazine, Sunset yellow FCF, Iron, Thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), Niacinamide, Calcium pantothenate, Pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), 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.

  • E102 Tartrazine Tartrazine is a synthetic yellow azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 5 in the US).
  • E110 Sunset yellow FCF Sunset yellow FCF is a synthetic orange azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 6 in the US).

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.
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 373 extruded cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 287th. 64% of the extruded 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 373 extruded cereals, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0055577105665, last edited 1 April 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.