Is Trader Joe's Banana Bread Mix ultra-processed?

15 oz Cooking helpers Sold in the United States and France

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Flavouring
E450 Diphosphates

18 ingredients
4 additives
Nutri-Score A

Less processed cooking helpers

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

Sugar (processing marker), enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), banana, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate (ultra-processing marker), sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch (processing marker), monocalcium phosphate), wheat germ, bran, salt (processing marker), natural vanilla flavor (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E341 Calcium phosphates , E341i Monocalcium phosphate , E450 Diphosphates , E450i Disodium diphosphate

As written on the pack

Sugar, unbleached enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), banana flakes, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch, monocalcium phosphate), wheat germ, bran, salt, natural vanilla flavor.

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.

E450 Diphosphates Diphosphates are phosphate salts used as raising agents in baking powder, and to hold water in processed meats and cheese.
Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 219 cooking helpers

From least to most processed, this one ranks 117th. 73% of the cooking helpers 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 219 cooking helpers, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00852180, last edited 20 August 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.