Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Rao's Homemade Alfredo ultra-processed?

15 oz Alfredo sauces Sold in the United States

Pack of Rao's Homemade Alfredo

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
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed sauces

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

Light Cream (cream, milk), Water, Butter (cream natural flavorings), Parmesan, Romano Cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Enzyme Modified Egg Yolk, Contains less than 2% of Parmesan Cheese (milk, salt, rennet), Sea Salt, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Modified Food Starch, Disodium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum

Additives: E339ii Disodium phosphate , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Light Cream (cream, milk), Water, Butter (cream natural flavorings), Parmesan and Romano Cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Enzyme Modified Egg Yolk, Contains less than 2% of Parmesan Cheese (pasteurized milk, salt, rennet), Sea Salt, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Modified Food Starch, Disodium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum.

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.

  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary 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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 18 alfredo sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 5th. 94% of the alfredo sauces 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 18 alfredo sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0747479001182, last edited 30 June 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.