Is Trader Joe's 4 Almond Croissants ultra-processed?

12 oz Croissants 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:

Flavouring
Gluten
E1505 Triethyl citrate
E412 Guar gum

43 ingredients
3 additives
Nutri-Score E

Less processed croissants

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

flour (flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), ascorbic acid (dough conditioner), enzymes), butter (processing marker) (cream, natural flavors (ultra-processing marker)), water, sugar (processing marker), almond meal, flour (flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), malted barley), almonds, yeast, egg white (egg whites, sodium citrate, triethyl citrate (ultra-processing marker), guar gum (ultra-processing marker)), dough conditioner (wheat flour, malted wheat flour, ascorbic acid, enzymes), salt (processing marker), natural flavor (ultra-processing marker), rice starch (processing marker), wheat gluten (ultra-processing marker), cinnamon

Additives: E1505 Triethyl citrate , E331 Sodium citrates , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (ENRICHED FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], ASCORBIC ACID [DOUGH CONDITIONER], ENZYMES), BUTTER (CREAM [MILK], NATURAL FLAVORS), WATER, SUGAR, ALMOND MEAL, UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (ENRICHED FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], MALTED BARLEY), SLICED ALMONDS, YEAST, EGG WHITE (EGG WHITES, SODIUM CITRATE, TRIETHYL CITRATE, GUAR GUM), DOUGH CONDITIONER (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED WHEAT FLOUR, ASCORBIC ACID, ENZYMES), SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR, RICE STARCH, WHEAT GLUTEN, CINNAMON.

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.

E1505 Triethyl citrate A food additive authorised for industrial food production.
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.

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.

Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.

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.

Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
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.
Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 44 croissants

From least to most processed, this one ranks 28th. 80% of the croissants 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 44 croissants, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00982658, last edited 28 June 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.