Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Ruffles Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream Flavored ultra-processed?

Potato crisps Sold in the United States

Pack of Ruffles Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream Flavored

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:

  • 36 ingredients
  • 9 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed potato 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

Potatoes, Corn Starch, Corn Oil, Sugar, Maltodextrin (Made From Corn), Salt, Soy Lecithin, Dextrose, Whey, Whey Protein, Onion, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Monosodium Glutamate, Blue Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Citric Acid, Artificial Color (Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 5, Yellow 6), Skim Milk, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Garlic, Lactic Acid, Disodium Inosinate, and Disodium Guanylate, ingredients

Additives: E102 Tartrazine , E110 Sunset yellow FCF , E270 Lactic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate , E627 Disodium guanylate , E631 Disodium inosinate

As written on the pack

Dried Potatoes, Corn Starch, Corn Oil, Sugar, Maltodextrin (Made From Corn), Salt, Soy Lecithin, Dextrose, Whey, Whey Protein Concentrate, Onion Powder, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Monosodium Glutamate, Blue Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Citric Acid, Artificial Color (Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 5, Yellow 6), Skim Milk, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Garlic Powder, Lactic Acid, Disodium Inosinate, and Disodium Guanylate. CONTAINS MILK AND SOY INGREDIENTS.

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.

  • E102 Tartrazine Tartrazine is a synthetic yellow azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 5 in the US).
  • E110 Sunset yellow FCF Sunset yellow FCF is a synthetic orange azo dye (FD&C Yellow No. 6 in the US).
  • 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.
  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • E627 Disodium guanylate Disodium guanylate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
  • E631 Disodium inosinate Disodium inosinate is a flavour enhancer usually used together with MSG.
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  • 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.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 622 potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 619th. 66% of the potato 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 622 potato crisps, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0028400184779, last edited 26 May 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.