Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Rao's Five Cheese Pizza ultra-processed?

19 oz Cheese pizzas Sold in the United States

Pack of Rao's Five Cheese Pizza

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:

  • 22 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cheese pizzas

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

Enriched Wheat Flour, Water, Soybean Oil, Bread Crumbs, Sugar, Yeast, Salt, Olive Oil, Monocalcium Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, L-cysteine, Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic, Carrots, Spices, Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese, Provolone Cheese, Fontina Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Romano Cheese, Powdered Cellulose

Additives: E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E460 Cellulose , E460ii Powdered cellulose , E500 Sodium carbonates , E500ii Sodium hydrogen carbonate

As written on the pack

Enriched Wheat Flour, Water, Soybean Oil, Bread Crumbs, Sugar, Yeast, Salt, Olive Oil, Monocalcium Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, L-cysteine, Italian Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic, Carrots, Spices, Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese, Provolone Cheese, Fontina Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Romano Cheese, Powdered Cellulose.

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.

  • E460 Cellulose A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
5 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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 39 cheese pizzas

From least to most processed, this one ranks 17th. 69% of the cheese pizzas 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 39 cheese pizzas, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0747479300209, last edited 16 August 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.