Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Suddenly Pasta salad ultra-processed?

15.50 oz Prepared salads Sold in the United States

Pack of Suddenly Pasta salad

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed prepared salads

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

Enriched Plain, Spinach, Tomato Rotini, Maltodextrin, Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Sugar, Red Bell Pepper, Potassium Chloride, Citric Acid, Basil, Parsley, Natural Flavor, Garlic, Onion, Vegetable Oil, Spice, Guar Gum, Vinegar, Whey, Romano Cheese, Yeast Extract, Silicon Dioxide

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

Enriched Plain/Spinach/Tomato Rotini, Maltodextrin, Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Sugar, Red Bell Pepper, Potassium Chloride, Citric Acid, Basil, Parsley, Natural Flavor, Garlic, Onion, Vegetable Oil, Spice, Guar Gum, Vinegar, Whey, Romano Cheese, Yeast Extract, Silicon Dioxide.

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.

  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • 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.

  • 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.
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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 224 prepared salads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 198th. 60% of the prepared salads 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 224 prepared salads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0652729710151, last edited 23 September 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.