Is Trader Joe's 72% cacao Belgian dark chocolate bar ultra-processed?

It's processed, but not ultra-processed

Whole foods combined with:

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

cocoa mass, cane sugar (processing marker), cocoa butter (processing marker)

As written on the pack

Organic cocoa mass, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
Vegetable fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.

Open Food Facts puts every product in this category in at least this group.

From least to most processed, this one ranks 3rd. 45% of the dark chocolate bar with more than 70% cocoa 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.

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00547833, last edited 29 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 E (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.