Is it ultra-processed?
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Is simplyFUEL Protein Balls ultra-processed?

405 g Sold in the United States

Pack of simplyFUEL Protein Balls

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:

  • 15 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

oats, honey, peanut butter, whey protein, chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin, vanilla), coconut, vegetable glycerin, sea salt, coconut, made on equipment that processes almonds

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E422 Glycerol

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E422 Glycerol.

As written on the pack

GLUTEN FREE OATS, HONEY, PEANUT BUTTER, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN, VANILLA), ORGANIC COCONUT, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, SEA SALT. CONTAINS: MILK, PEANUTS, COCONUT. MADE ON EQUIPMENT THAT PROCESSES ALMONDS.

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.
  • E422 Glycerol Glycerol is a sweet-tasting liquid used to keep products moist and soft.

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.

  • Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
4 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.

  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0852261007171, last edited 6 August 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.