Is Trader Joe's Family style Meat lasagna ultra-processed?
Yes, it's ultra-processed
- 1 Unprocessed
- 2 Kitchen staple
- 3 Processed
- 4 Ultra-processed
Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:
- 50 ingredients
- 1 additive
- Nutri-Score B
Less processed meat lasagnas
Ingredients
Ultra-processing Processing
Pasta (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina, Egg White Powder), Water, Ricotta Cheese (processing marker) (Whey (ultra-processing marker), Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt (processing marker), Citric Acid (Acidifier)), Beef, Pork, Low-moisture Part-skim Mozzarella Cheese (processing marker) (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt (processing marker), Calcium Chloride, Microbial Enzyme), Crushed Tomatoes, Diced Tomatoes In Juice (Tomato, Tomato Juice, Citric Acid (Acidifier), Calcium Chloride), Onion, Distilled Vinegar, Modified Cornstarch (ultra-processing marker), Skim Milk Powder (processing marker), Salt (processing marker), Romano Cheese Made From Cow's Milk (Milk, Salt (processing marker), Cheese Cultures, Microbial Enzyme, Calcium Chloride), Spices, Garlic, Cane Sugar (processing marker), Parmesan Cheese (processing marker) (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt (processing marker), Calcium Chloride, Microbial Enzyme), Onion, Yeast Extract, Garlic
Additives: E330 Citric acid
As written on the pack
Pasta (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina, Egg White Powder), Water, Part-skim Ricotta Cheese (Whey, Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Citric Acid [Acidifier]), Beef, Pork, Low-moisture Part-skim Mozzarella Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Microbial Enzyme), Crushed Tomatoes, Diced Tomatoes In Juice (Tomato, Tomato Juice, Citric Acid [Acidifier], Calcium Chloride), Onion, Distilled Vinegar, Modified Cornstarch, Skim Milk Powder, Salt, Romano Cheese Made From Cow's Milk (Milk, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Microbial Enzyme, Calcium Chloride), Spices, Garlic, Cane Sugar, Parmesan Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Microbial Enzyme), Granulated Onion, Yeast Extract, Granulated Garlic.
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.
- 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.
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.
- 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.
6 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.
- Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
- Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
- Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
- Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
- Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.
- Milk powder Milk powder is milk with the water evaporated off: a preserved form of a whole food rather than an industrial extract.
Among 27 meat lasagnas
From least to most processed, this one ranks 18th. 63% of the meat lasagnas here are ultra-processed.
About this information
- Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00951128, last edited 4 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 B (from A, best, to E).
- General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.