Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Ritz Crackers ultra-processed?

3 x 100 gram packs Crackers (Appetizers) Sold in Australia

Pack of Ritz Crackers

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:

  • 16 ingredients
  • 6 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed crackers (Appetizers)

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

wheat flour, vegetable oil (contains antioxidant (304)), sugar, fructose syrup, salt, raising agents (500, 341‚503), emulsifier (soy lecithin), manufactured on equipment that also processes peanut, sesame, EGG, milk

Additives: E304 Fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E341 Calcium phosphates , E500 Sodium carbonates , E503 Ammonium carbonates

As written on the pack

WHEAT FLOUR, VEGETABLE OIL (CONTAINS ANTIOXIDANT (304)), SUGAR, FRUCTOSE SYRUP, SALT, RAISING AGENTS (500, 341,503), EMULSIFIER (SOY LECITHIN). ALLERGEN STATEMENT: CONTAINS WHEAT AND SOY. MANUFACTURED ON EQUIPMENT THAT ALSO PROCESSES PEANUT, SESAME, EGG AND MILK.

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.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.

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.

  • Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn starch.
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.

  • Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 715 crackers (Appetizers)

From least to most processed, this one ranks 550th. 61% of the crackers (Appetizers) 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 715 crackers (Appetizers), least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 9310034000367, last edited 21 November 2025), 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.