Is Trader Joe's Apples & Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal ultra-processed?

Cereals and their products 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
E170 Calcium carbonates
E412 Guar gum

21 ingredients
4 additives

Less processed cereals and their products

Sprouted Rolled Oats One Degree Organic Foods 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Old Fashioned Oats Quaker Oats 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Quick 1-Minute Oats Quaker Oats 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Old Fashioned 100% Whole Grain Rolled Oats Quaker Oats 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1

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

rolled oats (with oat bran), sugar (processing marker), apples (with ascorbic acid, citric acid, calcium chloride to preserve color), cinnamon, salt (processing marker), calcium carbonate (ultra-processing marker), natural flavors (ultra-processing marker), citric acid, guar gum (ultra-processing marker), ferric orthophosphate, niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride (b6), riboflavin, vitamin a palmitate, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid

Additives: E170 Calcium carbonates , E170i Calcium carbonate , E330 Citric acid , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

Whole grain rolled oats (with oat bran), sugar, dehydrated apples (treated with ascorbic acid, citric acid and calcium chloride to preserve color), cinnamon, salt, calcium carbonate, natural flavors, citric acid, guar gum, ferric orthophosphate, (source of iron), niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, (b6) riboflavin, vitamin a palmitate, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid.

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.

E170 Calcium carbonates Calcium carbonate is chalk.
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.

2 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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 5,078 cereals and their products

From least to most processed, this one ranks 4068th. 57% of the cereals and their products 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 5,078 cereals and their products, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00910569, last edited 19 August 2025), 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.
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.