Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Alfredo Pasta Sauce ultra-processed?

16 oz Alfredo sauces Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Alfredo Pasta Sauce

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:

  • 27 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed sauces

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

Water, cream, parmesan cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, microbial rennet), romano cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, microbial rennet), butter, egg yolk (egg yolks, salt, enzymes), modified corn starch, salt, natural cheddar cheese flavor, sugar, xanthan gum, garlic puree, black pepper, onion, lactic acid, nutmeg

Additives: E270 Lactic acid , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

Water, cream, parmesan cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, microbial rennet), romano cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, microbial rennet), butter, modified egg yolk (egg yolks, salt, enzymes), modified corn starch, salt, natural cheddar cheese flavor, sugar, xanthan gum, roasted garlic puree, black pepper, onion powder, lactic acid, nutmeg.

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.

  • 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.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

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.

  • Egg yolk An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 18 alfredo sauces

From least to most processed, this one ranks 11th. 94% of the alfredo sauces 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 18 alfredo sauces, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00886178, last edited 17 April 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.