Is Trader Joe's Fat Free Crumbled Feta Cheese ultra-processed?

6 oz Feta 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:

Milk proteins

10 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score C

Less processed feta

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

feta cheese (processing marker) (pasteurized skim milk, whey protein (ultra-processing marker), salt (processing marker), cheese cultures, microbial enzymes), cellulose (anti-caking agent (processing marker)), natamycin (mold inhibitor)

Additives: E235 Natamycin

As written on the pack

FAT FREE FETA CHEESE (PASTEURIZED SKIM MILK, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SALT, CHEESE CULTURES, MICROBIAL ENZYMES), CELLULOSE POWDER (ANTI-CAKING AGENT), NATAMYCIN (MOLD INHIBITOR)

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.

Milk proteins Milk proteins are proteins separated from milk, such as caseinates and whey protein concentrates, added to adjust texture or raise protein content.

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.

Cheeses Products in the category "Cheeses" are at least group 3.
Anti-caking agent Anti-caking agents are substances which reduce the tendency of individual particles of a foodstuff to adhere to one another.
Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 52 feta

From least to most processed, this one ranks 47th. 12% of the feta 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 52 feta, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00798570, last edited 16 September 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 C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.