Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sour cream and onion chips ultra-processed?

Potato crisps Sold in the United States

Pack of Sour cream and onion chips

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:

  • 30 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

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, vegetable oil (CONTAINS ONE and MORE OF THE FOLLOWING (corn), cottonseed, sunflower), seasoning (whey, maltodextrin, lactose, buttermilk solids, dehydrated onion, sugar, butter cream, salt), salt, monosodium glutamate, corn syrup solids, sour cream (cream, nonfat milk, cultures), nonfat milk, citric acid, parsley, artificial flavor, nonfat milk, malic acid, natural flavors, sodium diacetate

Additives: E262 Sodium acetates , E262ii Sodium diacetate , E296 Malic acid , E330 Citric acid , E621 Monosodium glutamate

As written on the pack

POTATOES, VEGETABLE OIL (CONTAINS ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: CORN, COTTONSEED, SUNFLOWER), SEASONING (WHEY, MALTODEXTRIN, LACTOSE, BUTTERMILK SOLIDS, DEHYDRATED ONION, SUGAR, BUTTER CREAM, SALT), SALT, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SOUR CREAM [CREAM, NONFAT MILK, CULTURES], NONFAT MILK, CITRIC ACID, DEHYDRATED PARSLEY, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CULTURED NONFAT MILK, MALIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM DIACETATE, SALT CONTAINS MILK.

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.

  • E621 Monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, made by fermentation and used to strengthen savoury taste.
  • 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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
  • 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.
5 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.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Microbial culture Microbial cultures ferment foods such as yoghurt, cheese and sourdough.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 622 potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 549th. 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 0072600032996, last edited 7 September 2025), 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.