Is Trader Joe's Low Fat Kefir Plain Unsweetened ultra-processed?

Kefir 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:

E440 Pectins

24 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score B

Less processed kefir

A2/A2 Organic 100% Grass-Fed Probiotic Whole Kefir Alexandre FAMILY FARM 15 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 1
Organic whole milk kefir Lifeway 2 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 1
Goat Milk Kefir Trader Joe's 11 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 3
kefir drink original Biotiful gut health 6 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 1

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

pasteurized grade a cultured lowfat milk, pectin (ultra-processing marker), pasteurized grade a cultured nonfat milk, vitamin a palmitate, vitamin d3, live, active cultures (lactobacillus casei, bifidobacterium lactis, B, breve, B, longum, lactobacillus rhamnosus, lactobacillus acidophilus, S, diacetylactis, S, florentinus, lactobacillus plantarum, L, cremoris, lactobacillus lactis, lactobacillus reuteri)

Additives: E440 Pectins

As written on the pack

PASTEURIZED GRADE A CULTURED LOWFAT MILK, PECTIN, PASTEURIZED GRADE A CULTURED NONFAT MILK, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D3, LIVE AND ACTIVE CULTURES (L. casei, B. lactis, B. breve, B. longum, L. rhamnosus, L. acidophilus, S. diacetylactis, S. florentinus, L. plantarum, L. cremoris, L. lactis, L. reuteri)

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.

E440 Pectins Pectins are gelling agents extracted from citrus peel or apple pomace.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 88 kefir

From least to most processed, this one ranks 59th. 63% of the kefir 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 88 kefir, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00582360, last edited 26 January 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.