Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Breaded Fish Sticks ultra-processed?

1 LB (454 g) Fish fingers Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Breaded Fish Sticks

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:

  • 19 ingredients
  • No additives
  • Nutri-Score A

Less processed fish fingers

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

alaska pollock, water, flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), wheat flour, canola oil, modified wheat starch, CONTAINS 2% and LESS OF SALT, sugar, sunflower oil, yeast, natural flavor, pollock protein, pollock

As written on the pack

ALASKA POLLOCK, WATER, UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WHEAT FLOUR, EXPELLER PRESSED CANOLA OIL, MODIFIED WHEAT STARCH, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF SALT, SUGAR, SUNFLOWER OIL, YEAST, NATURAL FLAVOR, POLLOCK PROTEIN. CONTAINS WHEAT, POLLOCK.

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.

  • 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.
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.

  • 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 63 fish fingers

From least to most processed, this one ranks 38th. 63% of the fish fingers 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 63 fish fingers, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00989671, last edited 19 June 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.