Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sara Lee Smooth Multigrain bakery bread ultra-processed?

Wheat breads Sold in the United States

Pack of Sara Lee Smooth Multigrain bakery bread

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
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed wheat breads

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

310 pu slight la, color m ingredients.nriched wheat flour (flour, malted barley flour, reduced iron, niacin, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin b1), riboflavin, folic acid), water, sugar, vegetable oil (soybean), wheat gluten, yeast, oats, triticale, whole wheat, sea salt, rye, barley, millet, buckwheat, and less of each of the following 5% (brown rice), wheat flour, molasses, natural flavors, soy lecithin, malt extract (barley), grain vinegar, citric acid, r21-216, made in a bakery that may also use milk, tree nuts, bimbo bakeries usa, inc, horsham, pa 19044 smartlabel www.saraleebread.com all rights reserved, sara lee is a registered trademark of sara lee tm holdings llc used under license, shree sli fb, twa 回类口 scan here for more

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

310 pu slight la.. color m ingredients.nriched wheat flour (flour, malted barley flour, reduced iron, niacin, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin b1), riboflavin (vitamin b2), folic acid), water, sugar, vegetable oil (soybean), wheat gluten, yeast, oats, triticale, whole wheat, sea salt, rye, barley, millet, buckwheat, contains 0.5% or less of each of the following: brown rice, cultured wheat flour, molasses, natural flavors, soy lecithin, malt extract (barley), grain vinegar, citric acid. r21-216-202458 contains wheat, soy. made in a bakery that may also use milk, tree nuts. bimbo bakeries usa, inc. horsham, pa 19044 smartlabel www.saraleebread.com all rights reserved. sara lee is a registered trademark of sara lee tm holdings llc used under license. shree sli fb. twa 回类口 scan here for more

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.
  • 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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
3 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.

  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 228 wheat breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 71st. 92% of the wheat breads 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 228 wheat breads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0072945612921, last edited 26 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.