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Is Trader Joe's Korean Beefless Bulgogi ultra-processed?

10 oz Meat alternatives Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Korean Beefless Bulgogi

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:

  • 34 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed meat alternatives

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

water, sauce (sugar, water, soy sauce (water, soybean, wheat, salt), pear puree, onion, garlic, apple puree, sugar syrup (sugar, water), modified cornstarch, ginger, green onion (water, green onions, maltodextrin, salt, pectinase), dextrin, black pepper, guar gum, xanthan gum), textured soy protein (soy protein isolate, rice flour, wheat gluten, cocoa powder), soybean oil

Additives: E1400 Dextrin , E412 Guar gum , E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

WATER, SAUCE (SUGAR, WATER, SOY SAUCE [WATER, DEFATTED SOYBEAN FLAKES, WHEAT, SALT], PEAR PUREE, ONION, GARLIC, APPLE PUREE, CARAMELIZED SUGAR SYRUP [SUGAR, WATER], MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, GINGER, GREEN ONION EXTRACT [WATER, GREEN ONIONS, MALTODEXTRIN, SALT, PECTINASE], DEXTRIN, BLACK PEPPER, GUAR GUM, XANTHAN GUM), TEXTURED SOY PROTEIN (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, RICE FLOUR, WHEAT GLUTEN, COCOA POWDER), SOYBEAN OIL. CONTAINS SOY, WHEAT.

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.

  • E1400 Dextrin Dextrin is starch partly broken down by heat or acid, used as a thickener, binder and coating.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.
  • 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.

  • Gluten Wheat gluten, sold as "vital wheat gluten", is the protein washed out of wheat flour.
  • Maltodextrin Maltodextrin is a white powder made by partly breaking down starch.
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.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.
  • Vegetable oil Vegetable oils are pressed or extracted from seeds, nuts and fruits.
  • Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 698 meat alternatives

From least to most processed, this one ranks 557th. 72% of the meat alternatives 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 698 meat alternatives, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00729499, last edited 13 May 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.