Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Quaker Tomato & Basil Rice Cakes ultra-processed?

Puffed rice cakes Sold in the United States

Pack of Quaker Tomato & Basil Rice Cakes

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed puffed rice cakes

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

brown rice, degerminated milled corn, sunflower oil, tomato powder, corn maltodextrin, salt, sugar, natural flavor, lactose, spices, garlic powder, yeast extract, hydrolyzed canola protein, citric acid, tricalcium phosphate, caramel color, paprika (color), tocopherols (preservative), annatto (color), soy lecithin

Additives: E150c Ammonia caramel , E160b Annatto , E306 Tocopherol-rich extract , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid

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

As written on the pack

Whole grain brown rice, degerminated milled corn, sunflower oil, tomato powder, corn maltodextrin, salt, sugar, natural flavor, lactose, spices, garlic powder, yeast extract, hydrolyzed canola protein, citric acid, tricalcium phosphate, caramel color, paprika (color), tocopherols (preservative), annatto (color), soy lecithin.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
  • 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.

  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 142 puffed rice cakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 140th. 63% of the puffed rice cakes 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 142 puffed rice cakes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0030000562529, last edited 22 September 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.