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Is Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered mini pretzels ultra-processed?

340g Chocolate biscuits Sold in the United States, France and Germany

Pack of Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered mini pretzels

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:

  • 23 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score E

Less processed chocolate biscuits

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, cocoa processed with alkali, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor), mini pretzels (flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), malted barley flour, salt, soybean oil), peanut, almond, cashew, coconut, pecan

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin

As written on the pack

dark chocolate (sugar, cocoa processed with alkali, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor), mini pretzels (unbleached enriched flour [wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], malted barley flour, salt, soybean oil). peanut, almond, cashew, coconut, pecan.

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.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.
5 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 fat Vegetable fats are oils that are solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut fat.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sweet snacks Products in the category "Sweet snacks" are at least group 3.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 301 chocolate biscuits

From least to most processed, this one ranks 31st. 95% of the chocolate biscuits 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 301 chocolate biscuits, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00451413, last edited 2 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 E (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.