Is The Hershey Company PAYDAY Peanut Caramel Bar ultra-processed?

1.85 oz Bars Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Glucose
E407 Carrageenan
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

10 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed bars

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

Peanuts, Sugar (processing marker), Corn syrup (ultra-processing marker), Skim milk, Vegetable oil (processing marker) (palm oil, sunflower oil), Salt (processing marker), Carrageenan (ultra-processing marker), mono- and diglycerides (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E407 Carrageenan , E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

Peanuts, Sugar, Corn syrup, Skim milk, Vegetable oil (palm oil, sunflower oil), Salt, Carrageenan, Mono - and diglycerides.

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.

E407 Carrageenan Carrageenan is a thickener and gelling agent extracted from red seaweed, used widely in dairy desserts, plant-based drinks and processed meats.
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.

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.

Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.

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.

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.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 1,328 bars

From least to most processed, this one ranks 536th. 89% of the bars 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 1,328 bars, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0010700807229, last edited 29 July 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.