Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is The Laughing Cow Original ultra-processed?

8 Cream cheeses Sold in the United States

Pack of The Laughing Cow Original

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:

  • 22 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed cream cheeses

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, Swiss Cheese (Milk, Part-Skim Milk, Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey, Milk Protein Concentrate, Butter (Cream), Water, Skim Milk, Sodium Polyphosphate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Citric Acid, Milk Fat, Salt, Vitamins (Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D), Vitamin A Acetate)

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E452 Polyphosphates , E452i Sodium polyphosphate

As written on the pack

Cheddar, Swiss Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Part-Skim Milk, Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey, Milk Protein Concentrate, Butter (Cream), Water, Skim Milk, Sodium Polyphosphate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Citric Acid, Milk Fat, Salt, Vitamins (Cholecalciferol [Vitamin D] and Vitamin A Acetate).

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.

  • E452 Polyphosphates Emulsifiers are substances which make it possible to form or maintain a homogenous mixture of two or more immiscible phases such as oil and water in a foodstuff.

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.
  • 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.
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.

  • Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 122 cream cheeses

From least to most processed, this one ranks 98th. 64% of the cream cheeses 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 122 cream cheeses, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0041757025410, last edited 13 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.