Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese Bites ultra-processed?

10 oz Pasta dishes Sold in the United States

Pack of Trader Joe's Mac and Cheese Bites

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:

  • 94 ingredients
  • 3 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed pasta dishes

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

Cooked Elbow Macaroni (Water, Enriched Durum trition Facts Wheat Flour, Semolina, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Milk (Whole Milk, Vitamin D3), Four Cheese Blend, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme, Annatto, Color), Gouda Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme, Annatto (Color)), Havarti Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme), Swiss Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme), Breadcrumbs (Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Salt), Cornstarch, Canola Oil, Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Barley Malt), Egg, Water, Onion, Pepper Jack Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Jalapeño Peppers, Salt, Microbial Enzyme), Heavy Cream, Pecorino Romano Cheese Blend (Pecorino Romano Cheese (Pasteurized 12% Sheep's Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme), Hard Grating Cheese (Milk, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Microbial Enzyme), Cheese Whey Solids, Cornstarch), Unsalted Butter, Cream Cheese (Milk, Cream, Salt, Stabilizers (Guar Gum), Carob Bean Gum), Salt, Garlic, Cayenne Pepper Sauce (Aged Cayenne Red Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Salt, Garlic), Paprika, Garlic, Nutmeg

Additives: E160b Annatto , E410 Locust bean gum , E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

Cooked Elbow Macaroni (Water, Enriched Durum trition Facts Wheat Flour [Semolina, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)), Milk (Whole Milk, Vitamin D3), Four Cheese Blend (Cheddar Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme, Annatto (Color}], Gouda Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme, Annatto {Color}], Havarti Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme], Swiss Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme]), Breadcrumbs (Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Salt), Cornstarch, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Barley Malt), Egg, Water, Onion, Pepper Jack Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Jalapeño Peppers, Salt, Microbial Enzyme), Heavy Cream, Pecorino Romano Cheese Blend (Pecorino Romano Cheese [Pasteurized 12% Sheep's Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Microbial Enzyme], Hard Grating Cheese [Milk, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Microbial Enzyme], Cheese Whey Solids, Cornstarch), Unsalted Butter, Cream Cheese (Cultured Pasteurized Milk And Cream, Salt, Stabilizers [Guar Gum, Carob Bean Gum]), Salt, Garlic, Cayenne Pepper Sauce (Aged Cayenne Red Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Salt, Garlic Powder), Paprika, Garlic Powder, Nutmeg.

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.

  • E160b Annatto Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E410 Locust bean gum Locust bean gum (carob gum) is a thickener and stabiliser from the seeds of the carob tree.
  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • 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.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 543 pasta dishes

From least to most processed, this one ranks 424th. 73% of the pasta dishes 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 543 pasta dishes, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00652933, last edited 12 April 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.