Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sargento 4 State Cheddar ultra-processed?

212 g Cheddar cheese Sold in the United States

Pack of Sargento 4 State Cheddar

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:

  • 13 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed cheddar cheese

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

Cheddar cheese (milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto (vegetable color)), potato starch (to prevent caking), powdered cellulose (to prevent caking), natamycin (a natural mold inhibitor)

Additives: E160b Annatto , E235 Natamycin , E460 Cellulose , E460ii Powdered cellulose

As written on the pack

Cheddar cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto (vegetable color)], potato starch (to prevent caking), powdered cellulose (to prevent caking), natamycin (a natural mold inhibitor).

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.

  • E160b Annatto 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.
  • E460 Cellulose A food additive used to dissolve, dilute, disperse or otherwise physically modify a food additive or nutrient without altering its function -and without exerting any technological effect itself- in order to facilitate its handling, application or use of the food additive or nutrient.
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.

  • Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
  • Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
  • Preservative Preservatives slow spoilage by microbes.
  • 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 155 cheddar cheese

From least to most processed, this one ranks 146th. 28% of the cheddar cheese 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 155 cheddar cheese, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0046100411063, last edited 9 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.