Is Trader Joe’s Cocoa Almond Spread ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 11 ingredients
- 2 additives
- Nutri-Score D
Less processed nut butters
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Sugar (processing marker), palm, canola oil, almonds, low fat cocoa powder, skim milk powder (processing marker), whey (ultra-processing marker) (milk protein (ultra-processing marker)), soy flour, soy lecithin (ultra-processing marker), hazelnuts
Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin
As written on the pack
Sugar, non-hydrogenated palm and/or canola oil, almonds, low fat cocoa powder, skim milk powder, whey (milk protein), soy flour, soy lecithin, hazelnuts.
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.
- E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
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.
- Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.
- Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
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.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
- Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.
Among 345 nut butters
From least to most processed, this one ranks 344th. 18% of the nut butters here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00967976, last edited 25 April 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.