Is Trader Joe's Frosted Flakes Sweetened Flakes of Corn Cereal ultra-processed?

15 oz Corn flakes 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:

Glucose
Glucose syrup
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

24 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score E

Less processed corn flakes

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

corn, sugar (processing marker), glucose syrup (ultra-processing marker) (wheat, corn), barley malt extract, salt (processing marker), mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (ultra-processing marker), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), nicotinamide (vitamin B3), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), retinyl acetate (vitamin A), folic acid (vitamin B9), cyanocobalamin, cholecalciferol (vitamin D)

Additives: E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

As written on the pack

corn, sugar, glucose syrup (wheat and corn), barley malt extract, salt, mono-and diglycerides of fatty acids, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), nicotinamide (vitamin B3), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), retinyl acetate (vitamin A), folic acid (vitamin B9), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), cholecalciferol (vitamin D)

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.

E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids are made from fats and glycerol.

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.

Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
Glucose syrup Glucose syrup is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.

2 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.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 61 corn flakes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 58th. 28% of the corn flakes 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 61 corn flakes, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00946629, last edited 25 February 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.