Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Ancient Grain & Seed Bread ultra-processed?

20 oz Breads Sold in the United States and France

Pack of Trader Joe's Ancient Grain & Seed Bread

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:

  • 42 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed breads

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, whole wheat flour, flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, ascorbic acid (dough conditioner), thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, microbial enzyme, folic acid), sugar, wheat gluten, flax seeds, yeast, CONTAINS 2% and LESS PUMPKIN SEEDS, yellow corn meal, wheat bran, oat fiber, rolled oats, sunflower seeds, honey, sea salt, distilled vinegar, wheat flour, microbial enzyme, millet flour, buckwheat flour, khorasan wheat, amaranth flour, wheat germ, spelt flour, barley flakes, cracked wheat, red quinoa, brown rice flour, poppy seeds, guar gum, calcium sulfate, ascorbic acid (dough conditioner)

Additives: E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

WATER, ORGANIC WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, ORGANIC ENRICHED FLOUR (ORGANIC WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, ASCORBIC ACID [DOUGH CONDITIONER], THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, MICROBIAL ENZYME, FOLIC ACID), ORGANIC SUGAR, ORGANIC WHEAT GLUTEN, ORGANIC FLAX SEEDS, YEAST, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF ORGANIC PUMPKIN SEEDS, ORGANIC YELLOW CORN MEAL, ORGANIC WHEAT BRAN, ORGANIC OAT FIBER, ORGANIC ROLLED OATS, ORGANIC SUNFLOWER SEEDS, ORGANIC HONEY, SEA SALT, ORGANIC DISTILLED VINEGAR, ORGANIC WHEAT FLOUR, MICROBIAL ENZYME, ORGANIC MILLET FLOUR, ORGANIC BUCKWHEAT FLOUR, ORGANIC KHORASAN WHEAT, ORGANIC AMARANTH FLOUR, ORGANIC WHEAT GERM, ORGANIC WHOLE GRAIN SPELT FLOUR, ORGANIC BARLEY FLAKES, ORGANIC CRACKED WHEAT, ORGANIC RED QUINOA, ORGANIC BROWN RICE FLOUR, ORGANIC POPPY SEEDS, ORGANIC GUAR GUM, CALCIUM SULFATE, ASCORBIC ACID (DOUGH CONDITIONER).

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.

  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.

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.
  • Vegetable fiber Isolated plant fibres, such as inulin, oat fibre or bamboo fibre, are extracted industrially and added to change texture or support "source of fibre" claims.
3 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.

  • Honey Honey, used as a sweetener.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 2,388 breads

From least to most processed, this one ranks 1533rd. 71% of the breads 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 2,388 breads, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00650496, last edited 17 July 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 A (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.