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Is Quest Sour Cream & Onion Original Style Protein Chips ultra-processed?

1.1 oz (32 g) Crisps Sold in the United States and Bolivia

Pack of Quest Sour Cream & Onion Original Style Protein Chips

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:

  • 35 ingredients
  • 4 additives

Less processed 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

protein blend (milk protein isolate, whey protein isolate), vegetable oil (sunflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil), calcium caseinate, corn starch, nonfat dry milk, salt, psyllium husk, sour cream 2% (cream, nonfat milk, cultures), onion powder, buttermilk, garlic powder, spice, soluble corn fiber, natural flavors, citric acid, acacia gum, calcium carbonate, turmeric oleoresin (color), sugar, yeast extract, stevia (sweetener), lecithin (sunflower, canola, soy lecithin)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E414 Acacia gum

As written on the pack

PROTEIN BLEND (MILK PROTEIN ISOLATE, WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE), VEGETABLE OIL (SUNFLOWER OIL, CANOLA OIL, SOYBEAN OIL), CALCIUM CASEINATE, CORN STARCH, NONFAT DRY MILK, SALT, PSYLLIUM HUSK, 2% SOUR CREAM (CREAM, NONFAT MILK, CULTURES), ONION POWDER, BUTTERMILK POWDER, GARLIC POWDER, SPICE, SOLUBLE CORN FIBER, NATURAL FLAVORS, CITRIC ACID, ACACIA GUM, CALCIUM CARBONATE, TURMERIC OLEORESIN (COLOR), SUGAR, YEAST EXTRACT, STEVIA (SWEETENER), LECITHIN (SUNFLOWER, CANOLA, 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.

  • 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.
  • E414 Acacia gum Gum arabic (acacia gum) is the hardened sap of acacia trees, used to stabilise flavour emulsions in soft drinks and to coat sweets.
  • 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.
  • Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.

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.

  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
6 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,471 crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1324th. 64% of the 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 1,471 crisps, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0888849000319, last edited 15 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.
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.