Is Trader Joe's Crunchy Cinnamon Squares Cereal ultra-processed?

12.2 Oz Extruded cereals 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:

Fructose

24 ingredients
2 additives
Nutri-Score D

Less processed extruded cereals

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

whole wheat flour, cane sugar (processing marker), rice bran oil (processing marker), fructose (ultra-processing marker), rice flour, salt (processing marker), cinnamon, calcium carbonate, sunflower lecithin, VITAMIN and MINERAL BLEND (sodium ascorbate, vitamin a palmitate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cholecalciferol (vitamin d3), riboflavin, folic acid, trisodium phosphate, ferrous fumarate, zinc oxide, vitamin b12 (cyanocobalamin))

Additives: E339 Sodium phosphates , E339iii Trisodium phosphate

As written on the pack

WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, CANE SUGAR, RICE BRAN OIL. FRUCTOSE, RICE FLOUR, SALT, CINNAMON, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN POWDER, VITAMIN AND MINERAL BLEND (SODIUM ASCORBATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, NIACIN, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, CHOLECALCIFEROL [VITAMIN D3], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID, TRISODIUM PHOSPHATE, FERROUS FUMARATE, ZINC OXIDE, VITAMIN B12 [CYANOCOBALAMIN])

What makes it ultra-processed

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.

Fructose Fructose is the sugar found naturally in fruit and honey, but as an ingredient it is refined industrially, mostly from corn 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.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
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 373 extruded cereals

From least to most processed, this one ranks 197th. 64% of the extruded cereals 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 373 extruded cereals, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00571203, last edited 15 May 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.