Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans ultra-processed?

14 oz Chocolate candies Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans

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:

  • 17 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate candies

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

dark chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, butter fat, cocoa powder, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), salt, natural flavor), coffee beans, dextrin (corn), confectioner's shellac, cocoa powder (cocoa processed with alkali)

Additives: E1400 Dextrin , E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E904 Shellac

Also detected, but not matched to one ingredient: E904 Shellac.

As written on the pack

DARK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, WHOLE MILK POWDER, BUTTER FAT, COCOA POWDER [PROCESSED WITH ALKALIS] SOY LECITHIN [AN EMULSIFIER], SALT, NATURAL FLAVOR), COFFEE BEANS, DEXTRIN (CORN), CONFECTIONER'S SHELLAC, COCOA POWDER (COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI)

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.

  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • 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.
  • E904 Shellac Shellac is a resin secreted by lac insects, used as a glazing agent on sweets, coated chocolates and fruit.
  • Emulsifier Emulsifiers keep fat and water from separating, giving products a smooth, stable texture over a long shelf life.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

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.

  • Cocoa powder An ingredient mostly produced industrially and rarely used in home kitchens.
4 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.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 776 chocolate candies

From least to most processed, this one ranks 548th. 91% of the chocolate candies 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 776 chocolate candies, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00433358, last edited 26 March 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.