Is Trader Joe's Beef Bulgogi ultra-processed?
It's processed, but not ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Whole foods combined with:
- 28 ingredients
- No additives
- Nutri-Score D
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Beef, Binder Product (Beef, Water, Contains 2% and Less Of Cornstarch, Tapioca Starch (processing marker)), Soy Sauce (processing marker) (Water, Soybean, Wheat, Salt (processing marker)), Sugar (processing marker), Onion, Pear Puree (Pears, Ascorbic Acid (To Maintain Color)), Apple Puree (Apples, Ascorbic Acid (To Maintain Color)), Pineapple Juice (Pineapple Juice, Ascorbic Acid (To Maintain Color)), Garlic, Black Pepper, Sesame Oil (processing marker)
As written on the pack
Beef And Binder Product (Beef, Water, Contains 2% Or Less Of Cornstarch, Tapioca Starch), Soy Sauce (Water, Soybean, Wheat, Salt), Sugar, Onion, Pear Puree (Pears, Ascorbic Acid [To Maintain Color]), Apple Puree (Apples, Ascorbic Acid [To Maintain Color]), Pineapple Juice (Pineapple Juice, Ascorbic Acid [To Maintain Color]), Garlic, Black Pepper, Sesame Oil. Contains Soy, Sesame, Wheat.
What makes it processed
Processed ingredients
Processed foods in their own right, such as cheese or milk powder.
- Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.
Culinary ingredients
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.
- Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
Category rules
Open Food Facts puts every product in this category in at least this group.
- Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
Among 69 beef dishes
From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 55% of the beef dishes here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00752831, last edited 7 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 D (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.