Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Samyang Buldak Carbonara ultra-processed?

105g Noodles Sold in the United States

Pack of Samyang Buldak Carbonara

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:

  • 44 ingredients
  • 8 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed noodles

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, food starch-modified, palm oil, wheat gluten, salt, glycerin, soybean oil, onion extract, monosodium glutamate, guar gum, riboflavin, color, water, artificial chicken flavor powder, dextrin, yeast extract, artificial flavor, soy sauce, wheat, soy, water, salt, soybean, wheat flour, sugar, maltodextrin, soy lecithin, milk, cheese, cream, oil, skim milk, milk cream, cheese oil, garlic, food starch-modified, paprika, color, butter, food starch-modified, parsley, soybean oil, garlic, black pepper

Additives: E101 Riboflavin , E101i Riboflavin , E1400 Dextrin , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E412 Guar gum , E422 Glycerol , E621 Monosodium glutamate

As written on the pack

wheat flour, food starch-modified, palm oil, wheat gluten, salt, glycerin, soybean oil, onion extract, monosodium glutamate, guar gum, riboflavin, color, water, artificial chicken flavor powder, dextrin, yeast extract, artificial flavor, soy sauce, wheat, soy, water, salt, soybean, wheat flour, sugar, maltodextrin, soy lecithin, milk, cheese, cream, oil, skim milk, milk cream, cheese oil, garlic, food starch-modified, paprika, color, butter, food starch-modified, parsley, soybean oil, garlic, black pepper

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.

  • E101 Riboflavin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • 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.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.
  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
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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.
  • 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.

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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
7 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 416 noodles

From least to most processed, this one ranks 385th. 73% of the noodles 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 416 noodles, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 8801073250574, last edited 13 February 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.