Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Irish Potato Chips ultra-processed?

5.5 oz (156g) Potato crisps Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Irish Potato Chips

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:

  • 24 ingredients
  • 5 additives
  • Nutri-Score D

Less processed potato crisps

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

potatoes, sunflower oil, lactose, garlic, salt, sugar, yeast extract, onion, buttermilk powder, butter (butter (cream, salt), skim milk powder, trisodium phosphate, trisodium citrate), mushroom extract, natural flavor, parsley, lemon juice (maltodextrin, lemon juice), citric acid (acidulant)

Additives: E330 Citric acid , E331 Sodium citrates , E331iii Trisodium citrate , E339 Sodium phosphates , E339iii Trisodium phosphate

As written on the pack

POTATOES, SUNFLOWER OIL, LACTOSE, GARLIC, SALT, SUGAR, YEAST EXTRACT, ONION, BUTTERMILK POWDER, BUTTER POWDER (BUTTER [CREAM, SALT], SKIM MILK POWDER, TRISODIUM PHOSPHATE, TRISODIUM CITRATE), MUSHROOM EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVOR, PARSLEY, LEMON JUICE POWDER (MALTODEXTRIN, LEMON JUICE), CITRIC ACID (ACIDULANT). CONTAINS MILK.

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.

  • 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.

  • Lactose Lactose is milk sugar, crystallised industrially from whey, a by-product of cheese making.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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.

  • Salty snacks Products in the category "Salty snacks" are at least group 3.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • 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 622 potato crisps

From least to most processed, this one ranks 445th. 66% of the potato crisps 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 622 potato crisps, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00798174, last edited 8 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 D (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.