Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's 8 Mini Croissants ultra-processed?

12 oz Croissants Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's 8 Mini Croissants

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:

  • 31 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

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 (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), butter (milk, natural flavor, bacterial culture), water, yeast, cane sugar, dough conditioner (wheat gluten, wheat flour, rapeseed lecithin, malted wheat flour, deactivated yeast, ascorbic acid, enzymes), milk (milk, vitamin d3), salt, whole milk powder, carob bean gum, soybean oil, egg yolks, xanthan gum

Additives: E300 Ascorbic acid , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E410 Locust bean gum , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), cultured butter (milk, natural flavor, bacterial culture), water, yeast, cane sugar, dough conditioner (wheat gluten, wheat flour, rapeseed lecithin, malted wheat flour, deactivated yeast, ascorbic acid, enzymes), milk (milk, vitamin d3), salt, whole milk powder, carob bean gum, expeller pressed soybean oil, egg yolks, xanthan gum.

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.

  • E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.
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.

  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 44 croissants

From least to most processed, this one ranks 29th. 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 00654678, last edited 18 May 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.